


In which Regina needs the Sheriff to get some relief (and ends up sexting)

by HeleSL



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Sexting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-30
Updated: 2017-07-29
Packaged: 2018-11-21 11:52:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11356956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeleSL/pseuds/HeleSL
Summary: Set somewhere in season 1. Emma is already the Sheriff and Regina needs a little help with her frustration. *Now a multichapter of the evolution of their relationship and the curse.* Come and read!





	1. Chapter 1

It had been a rather tiring day. Another added to the list of tiring days of Regina Mills. She had stayed late at the office, signing more than a thousand papers and correcting another set of them because some people wasn't competent enough to do it right or so it seemed. Then Henry was throwing an attitude at her, something he certainly had picked up from her but now was using against her.

As soon as she had crossed the threshold, she had caught him sitting on the stairs, the straps of his bagpack on his shoulder. He looked like he had been waiting for a while, and he hid the walkie talkie he carried almost everywhere –even to the bathroom –seriously, does this kid need to tell Emma everything he does?– when he though she wasn't looking.

After he had begged her to go for an ice cream with Emma, she had just let him, not without reminding him to be home by 9 sharp to go to bed. When the front door closed behind him, not even thanking her or kissing her goodbye, Regina closed her eyes and her fingers pinched the bridge of her nose. She remembered when it was good, when Henry loved her and didn't treat her like if she was nothing in his life.

She had taken advantage of her solitude and prepared a bath while she poured herself a glass of wine, filled to the top. It was only Tuesday but she couldn't find an ounce of guilt in her body as she sipped from the reddish liquid. She didn't wait for the tub to be full when she stripped her clothes and dipped inside, relaxing as she felt the level of water increase around her body and hugging her curves. She had laid back, closing her eyes while the glass danced in her fingers. It had been a long time since she hadn't had the opportunity to enjoy a good bath.

Regina had skipped dinner, promising it would only be that time. She was getting ready to go to bed when she heard the front door opening and closing, followed by the stomps of her son. She walked out of her bedroom and caught him just when he emerged from the stairs.

"Mom," he had breathed as he jumped startled. He looked scared and guilty and Regina raised an eyebrow. She glanced at a clock and then at him; it was past 10. She crossed her arms on her chest.

"You're an hour late, Henry."

"Emma and I got caught up with uh…at Granny's and we didn't realise the time. It won't happen again, I promise."

Regina had sighed and looked at Henry. She was tired both physically and emotionally, and seeing Henry scared of her was doing her no good. It was destroying her how he couldn't see she only tried to protect him and did what was best for him. Instead, he only saw her as the Evil Queen who only tried to make his life impossible.

"Your sleep is very important Henry. You're growing up." He had nodded but kept quiet, his big brown eyes looking up at her and she had smiled. "Go to bed and get some rest. I'll wake you up tomorrow for school."

He had blinked at her, surprised he had just gotten away with it that easily without a punishment. Regina had got to see a little smile before he disappeared behind his door. She had stared at it for a moment before retreating to her own bedroom to get into bed.

And there she was now, after more than –she guessed– two hours without being able to sleep. Her mind was going over everything she could think of. The grocery list. Bread, cheese, Henry's favourite juice, healthy cereals, carrots, batteries. She had to make an appointment with the hairdresser for both her and Henry soon. The council meeting tomorrow. The member that would attend. Emma.

That woman. Her body reacted automatically at the thought of her, so cocky, so much feeling like she owned the place. Like she owned  _Henry._ But also her casual sex partner since a few months. It had started one drunk night, and Regina had promised it would only be that night when she had found Emma on her garden after she was talking to Henry on her walkie. They had argued, spit venom at each other and somehow they had ended up against the back door of her house, devouring each other's mouths. Yes, she hated Emma, but god did that woman know how to use her fingers and tongue.

At the thought of their previous encounters, Regina's body tingled with a very familiar sensation and she sighed. After that day she could really use a way to get all the frustration out and what better, she thought, than a mind-blowing orgasm.

Regina reached for her phone on her night stand and hesitated for a moment when she noticed the hour. It was late and if Emma wasn't awake, it would look like a lame booty call full of desperation and Regina was not up to look like that to anyone, even less to Emma.

It was a long shot. She felt the frustration growing inside her and she huffed, opening the texts. The conversation with Emma was short and to the point. Drop Henry at 5. I expect this report to be done by tomorrow. Henry is asleep. Emma's answers were just as dry as hers to Emma, they barely changed.

**Are you awake?** She tried. Regina bit her lower lip, considering the idea and deciding it probably was a bad one, but it was too late when Emma's answer came in a few seconds later.

_I'm on patrol._

**You shouldn't text while you're working.**

Regina could never pass a moment without scolding the town's Sheriff.

_You started._

Emma could never pass a moment without throwing the ball back to the Mayor.

**Henry is asleep.**

_I am working. I definitely can't skip this._

Regina blinked at the device. Out of everyone she knew, Emma was the person who would first jump into an opportunity to skip a shift. And even more if it was because of sex. She gritted her teeth and then released a huff.

**Fine. What are you wearing?**

_Are you seriously sexting me?_

**I don't know what that means.**

There was no answer for a minute and Regina frowned. She was about to search what sexting meant when her phone buzzed in her hand, pulling her out of her thoughts.

_I'm wearing jeans and a tank top with the blue leather jacket. It's getting warmer._

**I hate that leather jacket.**

_You hate all my jackets._

**Take it off.**

_It's getting warmer but it's still chilly._

**Take it off.**

_Okay but only if you tell me what you are wearing._

Regina raised an eyebrow.

**You are working, dear. I am not.**

_The jacket stays on. Such a shame you would love to see I'm not wearing a bra today._

As her eyes read the text, Regina felt a blush appearing on her cheeks and thanked she was alone in the dark for anyone to notice. She smirked at the thought of Emma's perky nipples slightly visible through the tank top with the cool air of the night.

**A satin nightgown.**

_The black one that looks like luxury lingerie?_

**It is luxury lingerie.**

_You got me warm enough for the jacket to go off. Is your nightgown off?_

**No.**

_Oh come on._ She could almost hear Emma's groan across town and smirked.

**Earn it.**

Regina waited for the next text to come, but after a while her phone remained still, its screen black like the sky that night and Regina's nightgown. She was starting to think either Emma had found something worth distracting her from this or she just didn't accept the challenge. It took a while longer, until the phone finally sprang to life.

_I would love to take that nightgown off or maybe not and I could just kneel before you, spread your legs open and inhale the most bittersweet scent ever. I would lick up slowly at first a few times before staying in your clit and sucking and lapping, watching you squirm beneath me like you fucking need it because you do and you push against my mouth because you can't just get enough. And before you can come I would lay back and watch you look up at me with fire in your eyes but before you can say anything I would shove two fingers inside you and you're so tight every time I fuck you, you feel so good._

Regina stared at the screen and swallowed before she licked her suddenly dry lips which were parted as she read. She had never read what her lovers would like to do to her but while she had been reading a hand had snuck down her waist and she could feel the drenched spot between her thighs. Before she could muster another thought, her phone lit up again.

_I fucking hate you but god I love when you come undone to my fingers or my mouth or my thigh. I swear I could drink you up for hours fuck I'm wet wish you were here._

Was Emma…?

_Fuck im gonna come_

Regina could almost hear the blood rush in her ear as her heartbeat sped up so fast she thought she might collapse. The thought of Emma touching herself on the Sheriff's car while texting Regina what she would like to do to her was making her breath shallow with desire. And in that moment Regina finally understood what sexting meant.

**I want you here now.**

_I am on patrol._

**Now.**

Regina dropped her phone somewhere on the nightstand, her hands flying to her breasts to knead there. She sighed with pleasure and her eyes closed; god, she needed that release so much. But waiting for Emma would be worth it, so she waited.

She had to keep repeating that to herself when, after 10 minutes, she was still alone in her bed. Regina was now pacing the room, seriously contemplating to just take a cold shower and go to bed while her mind kept playing images of Emma's face beneath her as she rode that filthy mouth of hers, when she heard a knock on her window.

Regina opened the window in one swift motion and, without waiting for an invitation, Emma started to climb inside. Once she was almost in the room, except from her left leg, she looked up, breathless.

"Sorry, I was—"

Regina closed the window quietly and grabbed a fistful of Emma's jacket, which for some reason was back on her body again. She pushed her against the wall, tugging at the leather to get rid of the piece of clothes.

"I don't fucking care," she growled possessively as she hastily ripped Emma's tank top out of her body. "Next time I say I want you here now I mean it."

There was no answer nor possibility of one when she crashed her lips against Emma's, kissing her furiously. Emma kissed back, her hands tugging at Regina's nightgown to take it off, but the Mayor's hands stopped her.

"I might recall you planned on leaving it on?" she whispered to avoid being heard by their son sleeping at the far end of the hallway. Emma raised an eyebrow and Regina could see all the smugness that hid a slight blush of embarrassment wash over the blonde's face.

Emma pushed her roughly until Regina landed on the bed and the Sheriff crawled over her, straddling her thighs as she attacked the other woman's neck. Regina growled, grabbing a fistful of impossibly golden locks to force Emma away and squinted her eyes.

"I swear if you leave a mark," she threatened.

Emma, far from scared by that threat, smirked as she dipped her head down to lick at her neck. "Wouldn't dream of it, Your Majesty."

Regina whipped her head at the title, slightly taken aback by it but she relaxed when she realised Emma wasn't serious and was only mocking her. She threw her head back, granting more access to Emma's mouth now drawing a known path to both of them with her lips, down her collarbone.

But before she could go further down, Regina wrapped her legs around Emma's slender figure and used her strength to turn them over. She looked at a surprised Emma from above and her lips curved into a predatory smile. Without a word, she lifted her short nightgown, not too much but enough to be able to maneuver on top of her. When Regina started to climb up her body, Emma finally understood and Regina glimpsed a smirk on pink lips as she accommodated on the pillow. There was no warning, no asking nor words. Regina just stood there and Emma got the message and attacked, darting out her tongue to lick the feast that was presented in front of her.

They had been doing this for a while, lots of nights over the past few weeks, but even the first time Emma knew how to read Regina perfectly to give her the greatest pleasure she could. By then, Emma knew every spot, ever flick of her tongue that would drive Regina over the edge and it wasn't long until Regina was riding wildly Emma's face. She looked down and Emma seemed to read her mind when she looked up to meet her gaze. Seeing Emma beneath her, the ghost of a smile on her lips as she licked and sucked when Regina needed the most was enough to make her tremble over Emma.

The Sheriff helped her to come down the intense ecstasy of the orgasm and when Regina placed her hand on blonde tresses, Emma got the message and stopped, looking up like expecting Regina to tell her what to do next. Regina smirked; Emma was so cocky and smug but in bed she was at her mercy.

She climbed down and without wasting another second, her fingers worked the zip of the ever present tight jeans. Once they were off, Regina opened Emma's legs and without warning she plugged in two fingers, knowing the wetness coating the other woman's entrance would be lubricant enough. She was rewarded by a deep throaty moan, and she slid up to put her hand over Emma's mouth. However, she was so into fucking Emma, instead of fully covering her mouth with her hand, her fingers brushed Emma's lips, her ragged breathing sneaking through them. It was enough though and Emma bit her lip to keep from moaning.

Regina glanced down to see Emma's eyes rolling to the back of her head and decided that eyeroll was definitely better than the sarcastic one she usually received during their bickering.

* * *

Emma took a minute to recover her breath after the fourth orgasm she had had that night. She knew she would be kicked out soon, but she enjoyed a moment of bliss just laying there in a post-orgasmic haze. When she thought she was walking on thin ice, she stood up from the bed and started to pick up her clothes that were scattered on the floor. She found her panties and slid them back on place, grimacing at the still wet spot on them.

Regina slid inside her bed and covered her body with the soft sheets as she sat, leaning back and crossing her arms. "You kept Henry up past his bedtime. I told him to be here by 9."

Emma was zipping up her jeans and didn't look up when she shrugged. "He'll be fine. It's just half an hour."

"Do I really need to tell you how important it is for children to have a bedtime?"

After putting on her tank top, Emma bent down to reach for her jacket, "No thanks. You've lectured me enough. I'll bring him on time next time."

"Good."

Regina watched Emma walk over the window and nodding as she pulled the window open, her biceps straining for the momentary strength used to do it. Before she could go out into Storybrooke's dark night though, Regina spoke behind her.

"Sheriff?"

"Madame Mayor," Emma answered turning.

"I hope no crime was committed while you were not doing your job or I'll make sure to fins a more competent sheriff."

Emma rolled her eyes but before she turned completely away, Regina glimpsed the start of a smile. Without further word or goodbye, Emma jumped out and closed the window behind her, but Regina had already turned in bed and missed Emma glancing one last time at the brunette curled up in bed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do I know what I'm doing? No. Am I doing it anyways? Yes. Let me know if you like this! And thanks for the guest for tipping me about the title, English is not my first language so let me know if you find any mistake.

 

Regina was sore when she woke up. She could feel it before she even opened her eyes. Her back and thighs were complaining about the night she had spent with Emma, but the rest of her was thankful for it. Boy, had it been a good night; Emma had put special effort.

Sitting up in bed, Regina stretched, shooting a glance at the clock to realize she had woken up before the alarm rang as usual. She thought about using that extra time to have a good shower to wash the pain away and when her feet touched the floor, she sighed happily, enjoying the blissful silence of the early morning. In that moment there was nothing to worry about. She was no Evil Queen, there was no curse, there was no hate towards her. It was just her and the calming silence.

The shower was long but only enough to hear the alarm when she stepped out of the shower. She wrapped the towel around her body, leaving her wet hair free to freshen herself up. Regina was on her way to turn it off when she noticed a folded paper on the floor.

It was an odd sight; Emma must have dropped it the night before. She bent down to pick it up and, without being able to suppress the curiosity, Regina unfolded it and read, her eyebrows shooting up as the sound of the alarm faded in the background.

* * *

Emma had had barely a few hours of sleep. After Regina's booty call, she had to end her shift, go home, get some sleep to come back to work at 9. She was lucky Storybrooke's criminal record was so low she could allow herself to be a little late to the station. She just hoped Regina didn't find out about it.

She was on her second cup of coffee when she heard the distinctive sound of Regina's deadly stilettos against the marble floor of the station after the door closing. Emma could pick out that sound everywhere. She heard it approaching and her lips curved in a smile when she heard them stopping at her door.

She ignored the Mayor and kept going over the paperwork that same woman had buried her in so she couldn't spend some time with Henry. Regina took a seat in front of Emma, not waiting for an invitation to do so. She crossed her legs and waited for Emma to raise her head.

After a while of silent treatment, Emma finally lifted her gaze from the papers to meet Regina's.

"Can I help you, Madame Mayor?"

She watched Regina reaching inside the pocket of her light coat and pull out something. "Mind you tell me what exactly is this?" She leaned forward, slid the unfolded paper she had found in her bedroom that morning, the marks of the folding still visible.

Emma recognized it in an instant and her hands flew to the pocket of her jacket, the same blue one she has been wearing and was hanging from the back of the chair. She realized it must had slipped from her pocket when she had been at Regina's the previous night and whispered something under her breath Regina didn't catch even in the silence that reigned in the room.

Regina raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

Emma grabbed the paper. She didn't need to read it; she remembered what was written on it, but she did it anyways to gain time. It said Operation Cobra in Henry's handwriting and beneath it and a clear stain of what had been ice cream, there was a list of good things and bad things. On the good things columns she could read things like  _she raised you, good Mayor, let Emma be the Sheriff_  among a few other things. On the bad things column she read  _she casted the curse (?), bitchy, a slytherin._  To Regina it looked like her actions had been listed in some kind of cons and pros debate.

"I guess this is  _why_ my son arrived late last night," Regina commented eyeing the paper. "I don't know what exactly this is," she very well knew, "but teaching the words 'bitchy' to my son is something I can just let go. And what is a slytherin?"

"Slytherin is a Hog…" Emma noticed Regina's quirked eye brow and realized that Regina cared very little about what it was. She threw the list aside and shrugged, "You know Henry. He's with the Operation Cobra thing and he won't talk about anything else. I was just trying him to see that not everything is black and white."

Regina was lucky Emma's focus was back on the paperwork because the fact that Emma was implying she was trying for Henry not to think she was evil caught her by surprise. She blinked at Emma, who smirked after a while, ruining the moment.

"Like, you're a full asshole to me and a complete sociopath, but you know, Henry doesn't need to know that."

Regina rolled her eyes and stood. "Well, in that case I hope you refrain from using words such as 'bitchy' and 'asshole' in front on Henry. He's only 10 and I have managed to raise him polite only for you to come in with your…rather extensive vocabulary."

Emma leaned back on the chair, crossing her arms on her chest. "Just because I like to speak my mind doesn't mean it is wrong. Those are words such as any other and Henry is going to learn them one way or another."

"So you think it's good for a child to say his mother is bitchy?"

Emma stood up this time, picking up one of the papers and stalking over to the file cabinets to put it in. "It is kind of true. You _are_  bitchy." When she turned, she saw the fire in Regina's eyes and far from being scared about it, she looked smug. "I get why thinking that about their mother is wrong though. That's why I came up with that list and why I tried to get him to see past that. We all have our reasons," she added with a shrug, coming back to her seat.

Regina followed her with her eyes. There was something in Emma's statement that sounded like…understanding. The mere idea of Emma Swan feeling compassion about her made her feel sick with something she wasn't used to feel. Remorse. Regina didn't like that feeling so she did the only thing she knew to do when there was something she didn't like.

She rounded the table and pushed Emma's chair back. Regina sat on her lap under Emma's curious eyes and tangled her fingers around blonde locks, giving them a tug to force Emma look up. Regina swallowed her gasp of both surprise and pain as she kissed her roughly, her tongue claiming for a taste of the other woman without asking.

"S-someone can come in any second," Emma breathed against Regina's lips. They could and it would be outrageous if someone found them in such position. The feeling of remorse was still there, sitting on the pitch of her stomach. Regina growled and kissed Emma again to shut her up.

The hem of the skirt she was wearing rolled up her thigh as she accommodated on top of Emma, sliding the coat off her shoulders when she felt the heat that surrounded them. Emma's hands had found their way to Regina's ass and she felt them squeezing and bringing her closer as their moans mixed in their mouths.

When Regina noticed Emma was too busy admiring her buttocks, she decided to take the lead and sneaked one hand between them. Instead of trying to pop Emma's jean button open, she cupped herself without helping but groan at the already wet spot on her panties. She stroked herself, rocking her hips on Emma's thighs and when Emma realised what was happening, she looked down so she didn't miss that show.

Regina's hand clawed Emma's scalp, making a hiss leave pink lips as she rode her hand. She pushed aside the drenched cloth and used two fingers to bring herself to the orgasm. She tried to keep her mind blank, but it kept coming back to Emma trying to thing good things about her. The grip on Emma's hair tightened as she closed her eyes tight, leaning her forehead in Emma's as she leaned further into her hand.

She attacked her pale neck. It had been a mutual agreement to never leave a mark in each other without a need to actually establish it, but this time Regina felt something bubbling up inside her and couldn't help herself. She bit hard before sucking, eliciting a deep growl from Emma, but she didn't pull away. If anything, the blonde pulled her closer.

Regina kept sucking until she could feel she was running out of air in her lungs and finally let go, revelling into the beautiful purple mark adorning Emma's neck. Her breath quickened and whispered eventual moans into Emma's ear, feeling she was on the edge. "Fuck," she half breathed, half moaned when she felt her body tingling with the orgasm.

"I thought that was a bad word, not part of your vocabulary."

Regina opened her eyes and glared down at Emma, pushing her away as she stood up and left Emma's sort of embrace. She straightened her skirt and fixed her shirt which had untucked some time in the last minutes. She leaned down to pick up her coat and wasn't surprised to see Emma shamelessly checking her out when she turned, passing a hand through her hair.

"What was that for?" Emma asked while she watched Regina putting her coat on. She doubted the other woman was cold though, by the reddish colour of her face.

They never talked about it. They slept together and that was it; no explanation, nor why, nor reason. Outside the bed –or desk, or chair, or kitchen island, or couch– it was like if it hadn't happened. So Regina took a moment to answer.

"It seems I was left unsatisfied last night," she finally shrugged nonchalantly.

Emma raised an eyebrow, "It didn't look like it from where I was standing."

"Check your sight, then." Regina eyed the desk and then looked back at Emma. Her eyes landed on the purple blur on her neck and concealed a smile. She had to admit it looked good on her. "I need those reports by this afternoon. And you have lipstick on your chin."

She watched Emma roll her eyes as her hand tried to clean the smeared lipstick, but Regina noticed she was far from reaching where she was stained. She leaned down and pressed her thumb on her chin, following the red path to erase it. It ended up on her lips and when she finished, her eyes looked up and locked with Emma's. For a moment they stayed frozen, unsure of how to act.

It was Regina who retreated, clearing her throat. She reached for one of the reports and pushed it against Emma's chest. "By this afternoon. And mind your language with Henry. Be thankful I even let you spend time with him."

Before Emma could answer, Regina was already out of the door and she could hear the sound of her heels walking away down the halfway. When the air hit Regina's face, she stopped. She had been swallowed for a moment into that green that morphed into blue depending on the light and suddenly everything else had disappeared. She shook her head and listed in her mind:

-Emma was trying to take Henry away from her (did she really? After that list…)

-Emma was the daughter of her archenemy.

-Emma was the Saviour and would break her curse.

-She hated Emma.

She held onto that list as she made her way to her office.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! there are probably mistakes on this since I wrote it on a boat but I hope it's good enough for you to not to care. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

The door swung open with the grace of Emma stepping into her office like she owned that place. Regina closed her eyes briefly and sighed but her eyes remained fixed on her computer.

"I don't have plans to change my door in the near future so I would gladly like to keep it as it is now and not broken."

Emma left a stack of papers on the desk with a slam, like if she hadn't heard anything. "You wanted these? There you have it."

Regina finally lifted her eyes from the screen and frowned, noticing her sight was tired and she would have to wear the glasses later. She eyed the papers Emma had brought and then back up at her.

"I said before this afternoon."

"C'mon. It's barely after 5."

Regina narrowed her eyes, "Did they not teach you the hour properly at school?" She watched Emma's features harden slightly and raised an eyebrow; she had hit close to home. Regina waved a hand. "Next time try to have them here before lunch. I have a meeting now and I don't have time to go over them to check you did them correctly."

Emma crossed her arms defensively, "I did."

Regina's eyes gave Emma's body one last appreciatively sweep and fell down to the computer screen again without further word. Emma however looked like she hadn't finished. She stood in front of the desk, looking like she was considering telling something to Regina.

"Are you here for anything else, Miss Swan?" Regina asked after a while, leaving the other woman to suffer if only a little.

"Uhm, about the list today-"

Regina stood, cutting Emma off, her shoulders suddenly tense as she walked over her desk. "We already settled that, Miss Swan." There was some warning in her voice, like if she didn't want to bring that issue again. She should've known by now though Emma Swan was the most stubborn person to ever exist.

"Yeah, but I-"

She didn't have time to finish the sentence when Regina reached for her belt and tugged, bringing the Sheriff's body against hers. Her lips found their way together as usual and Regina felt the satisfaction of having Emma under her thumb.

It was true that somehow Emma had Regina under her thumb as well, knowing in any moment she could reveal intimate details about Regina that would at least serve as a public humiliation for a couple of weeks. She liked what they had too much though. It was a dangerous tug of war; they both had power and knew it could end the other, but both weren't ready to let whatever they had go just yet. Regina knew it would be a matter of time until one of them snapped and broke the silent commitment they had reached, but she hoped to have Emma out of their lives by then.

Emma pushed Regina against her desk, strong arms lifting her to help her on the glass surface. Some of the papers Emma had brought fell to the floor, but none of that mattered when Regina's legs wrapped around Emma's figure in one swift move. Regina kissed her passionately, trying to keep her mind blank and growling when she couldn't.  
Her hands caught Emma's jacket to bring her closer as the blonde's hands pulled her skirt up, slender fingers tracing knowing paths on her thighs. Before they could reach the desired destination though, an alarm ripped through the office's silence, only broken before by eventual moans and their ragged breath.

Regina pushed Emma back like if she was fire. She saw the confusion in greenish eyes and before she could ask, Regina reached for her phone to turn off the alarm.

"I have a meeting." The explanation came out more breathy than she would have liked, but Emma didn't seem to notice; she was already putting her jacket in place.

"Of course." Emma nodded and passed her hand through her hair. She noticed the papers on the floor and went to bend down to pick them up before she stopped herself. That woman had buried her in them after all. She turned and left the room before her eyes could fall on Regina's bruised lips, smeared with her own lipstick, and kissed her again.

The alarm rang again in Regina's hand and she absently turned it off, watching the now closed door. Her breath was still uneven but she wasn't quite sure if it was because of the make out session or because of the disappointment she had felt at the pitch of her stomach when they had been interrupted. Yes, it had started only as a way to shut Emma up, proving to be one effective way to achieve it. But also it had started as a way to shut the voice in her head up too. She had read Emma's tenderness in her voice, whatever she had been about to tell her, something related to the list it appeared, and Regina hadn't been ready for that.

She looked down to the floor and saw the papers scattered around. Sighing, she fixed her skirt and cleared her throat although there was no one there with her. She leaned down to pick them up, trying to push into the back of her mind the tiny voice that seemed so fond of Miss Swan.

* * *

Regina unlocked her phone again and eyed the hour. Like she had expected, it had only passed 5 minutes since the last time she had glanced at it. She suppressed a sigh. Henry had an appointment with Dr. Hopper and he would be out soon. She had expected to be out before that time but it seemed it wasn't her lucky day. Not like Henry would've appreciated it anyways.

She would have to text him to tell him she would be home soon, although she knew he would probably take that chance to grab an ice cream with Emma or whatever they did when they spent time together. Like lists.

Regina shook her head slightly and searched for Henry's number as the voice of two men discussing something filled the background noise. She was too used to that, knowing they would probably be discussing over something Regina would choose in the end.

As she scrolled down, she found Emma's number and she stopped. She bit her lips unconsciously, hesitating. Maybe she could ask her...he would be under an adult -kind of- supervision and maybe it would serve for Henry to see she was being good to him.  
She pressed her number and the text conversation popped up. Regina blushed a little when she read the last texts they had exchanged the previous night. She wrote and hesitated before pressing send. After another glance, she sighed and sent it.

 _Meeting_   _is taking longer than expected. Could you pick Henry up from Dr. Hopper's office and stay with him at mine until I arrive? He's got a key._

The answer took so little to arrive Regina wondered if Emma had actually anything to do other than texting and working.

**Really?**

_Yes really. I'll try to be there before dinner._

This time the answer took a while and Regina was already regretting it when it finally came through.

**Thanks. I'll watch him.**

Regina was about to leave the phone aside to focus on the meeting when it vibrated again. She looked down and read.

**Is it okay to feed a child with a cake for a mid evening snack?**

_Miss Swan, don't make me regret this._

**Kidding kidding. Homework, no sugar, bed at 9. Got it.**

This time Regina did leave the phone aside, but with a stupid grin she couldn't bring herself to stop.

* * *

Tiring days 100000 – Regina 0. She turned off her computer and glanced at her phone as she made her way out of her office. It wasn't dark yet but it would be soon. She checked her texts before getting in the car but she still hadn't gotten any since she had texted Emma. She had hoped for a check in at some point of the evening but it seems Emma and Henry were too busy. Regina moved her head from side to side, stretching her neck and hearing it crack. Even after the long meeting, she had to stay to finish some reports to send them before that night and she was so tired she was just ready to go home and relax.

Regina stopped in front of her door, looking for her keys and unconsciously leaned in to listen whatever was going on inside. However she could only hear some distant voices. She plugged in the key and turned it, opening her door. Whatever her son and Emma were doing, they were so into it they didn't hear the front door. She followed the sound of their voices; they were arguing about something Regina couldn't make until she arrived at the door of her study.

Emma and Henry were sitting on the floor surrounded by a million puzzle pieces. There was a corner that they had got to put together but they were far from finishing it. Henry's books were on Regina's desk, resting open like if he had left it before he finished it. Regina stood in the doorway looking at them arguing over which piece was next. Henry was holding the puzzle box lid and pointing at something and Emma looked so lost it was almost funny, making Regina smile at the sight.

She cleared her throat, noticing they were too into the task to realise she was there, and they raised their heads at the same time. "I see you're too busy."

Henry smiled at her and lifted the puzzle box lid to greet her, "Hi mom." Emma only smiled awkwardly and straightened her back slightly.

Regina returned the smile to her son, her heart swelling over that simple gesture. It had been so long since Henry smiled at her like that. "Hello sweetheart. Did you finish your homework?"

He nodded obediently and whipped his head, like realising he had left it on her desk. Henry dropped the puzzle box lid and rushed to pick everything up, putting it all in his bag. "All done," he said once he had finished.

Regina nodded and stepped into the room. "I know you'd like to finish the puzzle today, but it's late. Why don't you go up to leave your bag? I'll pick this up with Miss Swan." He looked down at the tiny piece they had gotten to put together and pouted. "Don't worry, I'll leave it like it is so you can keep working on it another day."

He nodded and grabbed his bag before running next to Regina, outside the room. "Be right back!" When Regina shouted, Henry was already out of the room.

"Henry, don't run in the house! And put your pyjamas on." Regina turned her head to look at Emma and found her now standing up, glancing down at the floor. "A puzzle?"

Emma looked up and shrugged, a challenging smile dancing in her lips. "What did you expect? Videogames and lots of candy all around?"

Regina raised an eyebrow and looked around in search for candy, finding none. "Actually, yes," she admitted.

Putting her hands on the back pockets of her jeans, Emma tilted her head, her smile getting smaller. "I did buy pizza for dinner though." She saw Regina getting ready to protest and she took a step forward, rushing to reassure. "It had vegetables though, like lettuce or something…argala maybe?"

"Arugula," Regina assisted.

Emma nodded, "Yeah, that. Anyways, it was either that or making a mess of your kitchen. I thought you would prefer a pizza."

"Smart choice," Regina nodded, leaving her bag on a couch. She walked over to the door and shouted. "Henry, wash your teeth too. I'll be right up." They could hear a muffled okay floating through the house and both women smiled sweetly at it.

When Regina came back, Emma was staring at her, a funny smile on her lips. Regina frowned and put a hand on her hip, "What?"

"I didn't know you wore glasses. They look good on you." Regina's hands went up instinctively and she felt her glasses as well as her blush. She had been so tired she had forgotten to take them off after she had finished at her office. She was about to take them off when Emma said, "Don't mind me. If you wear them, you need it."

Regina hesitated for a moment, but in the end she was too tired and Emma had already seen her with them on anyways. She lowered her hand and looked down. Kneeling down without a word, Regina grabbed the puzzle's box and started to pick up the pieces. Without asking her to, Emma knelt down too to help her, both working in silence to clean the room.

Once they were done, Emma handed Regina the lid and she put it all together before grabbing the already made puzzle part on top of it. She handed it to Emma and the blonde offered a hand to help her to her feet. Regina took it and they stood, their hands lingering linked for a moment.

"There's still pizza in the oven, if you want some." Emma's voice was raspy and low, but it was enough to make Regina snap. She retreated her hand and cleared her throat.

"Thank you. And for taking care of Henry. It looks like you didn't do it too badly."

Emma smiled and almost rolled her eyes. "Well, thank you for…this I guess."

Regina nodded, but remained quiet. After a moment, Emma handed her the puzzle and she put it on her desk. She stared at the surface and her memory betrayed her by reminding her that time Emma had come by late one night she couldn't sleep and she had been taken by the blonde in that spot. A sound behind her startled her and she turned to see Emma, clearing her throat.

"I'm gonna go. If you need anything, let me know." They both knew what she meant by  _anything,_  and Regina knew Emma had remembered that night too when they had been in silence.

She doubted Emma would come back again that night, but still she nodded and said, "I know."

Emma lingered in the room for a little longer but in the end she smiled and pointed at her back, "I know where the door is. Good night and could you tell Henry good night from me too?"

There was no reason to. Emma had ruined in essence her relationship with Henry and had come into town claiming for something she had no right to. It had been a closed adoption and Emma had no legal rights over Henry and never would, so she didn't owe her anything.

Instead of saying no though, she answered, "Of course. Good night, Miss Swan."

"It's Emma, you know. Outside the bed, I mean." Emma smirked and Regina noticed there was a hint of a joke in her voice.

She rolled her eyes, but returned the smile against her will. "Don't push it, Emma."

The Sheriff looked at her for a moment and her smile grew a little before she disappeared into her hall. Regina heard the door close softly and it was then when she sighed and left the room as well, turning off the lights. She walked upstairs, turning off the lights as she went up until she arrived at Henry's room.

He was in bed, reading a book, but Regina had noticed the quick motion and she knew Henry had just hidden the walkie. Some things never change. She picked up his bag and put in on the chair before getting his uniform from the closet and placing it on his desk for the next day.

"The puzzle is downstairs on my study," she informed as she folded his shirt.

"Can Emma come by tomorrow again to finish it? She could stay for dinner this time," he tried.

"She already stayed today and ate pizza with you."

Henry shook his head, "She didn't. She said she didn't like it and didn't order one for herself."

Regina stopped mid folding his pants and frowned. Emma, the bottomless stomach Emma Swan she knew by now, had refused to eat  _pizza_? That was…interesting. She placed his pants back in place and walked to his bed, but she didn't take a seat, still feeling like a stranger for her son.

"Well, Emma may be busy tomorrow."

"But you could ask?" Henry insisted. "You could join us to finish the puzzle. You're good at it and definitely better than Emma."

Regina smiled at him and pushed his hair back, making him shake his head to make it fall back forward like he liked it. Still, he kept the hopeful eyes and Regina sighed; she was too soft with him, especially if he included her in his plans and pulled those puppy eyes at her.

"Okay, I'll ask her. But I won't promise anything."

She watched Henry's eyes light up and she felt it like a punch in her stomach. It had been ages since Henry had been so happy about spending time with her. Probably since he was in kindergarten.

"Thanks mom."

Regina blinked the tears away and smiled. "C'mon now. It's time for bed."

"But it's sooo early," he whined, holding his book tight to his chest. He had been reading it after all. "Just a little longer? I'm older now, it's only fair."

Regina squinted her eyes, "If you're older now, you should make your own cocoa then." She saw him opening his eyes wide, fearing she was telling the truth and shook his head. "No?" He shook it again and Regina had to hold back the smile. "Okay, okay. Cocoas are still on me, and for the bedtime I'll give you another half an hour while I take a shower, use it wisely."

Henry nodded and smiled, relief visible in his face with the result of the conversation. Regina was about to leave his room when he called for her. "Mom?" she turned to look at him, her hand already on the door to close it. "Thanks for today."

She only nodded and smiled before closing the door. She stood there in the middle of the hallway trying to understand the mix of feelings reeling inside her. She was happy to fell connected to Henry like she hadn't felt in a long time; angry because of course it was only thanks to Emma, like if she needed her to raise Henry; intrigued as to why Emma had chosen not to eat before; angry again because she couldn't stop thinking about Emma and her behaviour and her compliment about her glasses and her attitude; and finally tired because it had been one hell of a day and dealing with so many feelings left her ever more tired.

After a well deserved long and relaxing shower, Regina got ready for bed, taking her make up off and putting on her robe while trying to keep her mind from going to that mix of feelings. It wasn't hard though, when all she could think of was going to bed. However, before getting into bed, she went to Henry's bedroom to put him to bed.

When she opened the door, she saw him already sleeping with the book in his hands. She smiled at the sight and shook her head. Carefully not to wake him up, she grabbed the book and left it on the nightstand before placing the sheets in place and kissing him on his forehead.

"Good night, Henry," she whispered to no one since he couldn't hear her, deep in his slumber. She closed the door softly and went back to her room, getting right into her bed.

In the silence of her room, keeping her thoughts at bay was harder than before. She remembered she had told Henry she would ask Emma about her plans for the next day, and without giving it much of a thought, she reached for her phone. Regina was tired, but she managed to write one text and send it before falling asleep with her phone on her hand.


	4. Chapter 4

Emma was behind her, almost cuddling her, but her hand was between Regina's legs, working her fingers in and out and picking up the pace. Regina could feel Emma's naked body pressed to her back and she sighed happily as she pushed back to lean into her embrace. Emma's free arm brought her even closer and her lips fell to Regina's neck and sucked, and for once Regina let her, secretly enjoying the feeling of being owned.

"You're amazing, Regina," Emma whispered in her ear. Regina turned to look at her, cupping her face with her hand, and was about to speak when Emma's face contorted and she snarled.

"You're nothing but an evil witch. You deserve nothing good."

Then, she opened her mouth again but instead of words, a sound came out of it, like the sound of her alarm. Regina took a moment to come back to her senses and to realize she was in her bed; her alarm was yelling at her to get up. Her hand ran over the bed although she already knew she would find it empty, and still she felt disappointed. She stared at the ceiling for a moment, letting the sound of the alarm become a background noise while the words Emma had said in her dream echoed in her head.

It was too early to dwell on her feelings though, so she turned off the alarm and stretched her body, getting ready for the day.

After waking Henry up, she had a quick shower and put on a pants suit with a light beige shirt that showed a little of her lace bra. She was making her morning coffee when Henry came down the stairs, already dressed up for school and carrying his bag. He murmured a good morning and went right to his cereal bowl. A pout adorned his face when he noticed it wasn't the sugar ones, but knew better than to protest about it, so he sat and started to eat in silence.

Regina watched him and felt like the previous night hadn't happened. He was still convinced she was the feared Evil Queen and not his real mother. The smiles he had dedicated her were just a memory now as he sulked in his chair. Finishing her coffee, Regina left the mug in the dishwasher and before she left the kitchen, she turned to Henry.

"We're leaving in 5, Henry. Make sure you have everything you need."

He murmured a confirmation and she walked up the stairs to get the final touches of her make up. She grabbed her lipstick and, after putting it on, she threw it into her purse. Looking around she searched for her phone, but it wasn't on her nightstand as it used to be. She was going to look into her other purses when she remembered she had sent a text last night. Putting the sheets aside, she found it tangled between them. There was barely a memory of the text, so she opened the conversation and read.

 _Henry wants us to help him finish the puzzle tomorrow. I'll make dinner_.

There wasn't a question there, but still Emma answered.

**Sounds good. What time?**

There hadn't been an answer since Regina had fallen asleep even before getting Emma's reply, so she made a mental note to answer her after making her bed. When she finished that up though, she noticed the time and rushed downstairs, throwing her phone into her purse. Henry was ready at the door and, like every morning for the past year, they made their way to the shiny black Benz in silence.

Only when Regina was parking in front of Storybrooke's school, Henry looked up at her like remembering for the first time that morning.

"Did you ask Emma about today?" She looked down at him and nodded slowly, watching how his face lit up. "Cool," he smiled.

He was already opening the door when Regina shouted a goodbye, barely hearing his response as he rushed into the school. She had to text Emma about the hour. She would do later.

* * *

She never did.

It was shortly after noon and Regina was finishing up some reports she had due to that evening before leaving her desk to eat in her couch. She glanced at the salad already waiting for her at the small table and her stomach grumbled for attention. When she finally decided she was done for the moment, she stood up, but before she could move from her desk, she heard a buzzing.

Regina panicked at first. Would that be the curse breaking? Then she relaxed when she noticed the sound came from her purse and reached for it, grabbing her phone. In the screen she could read Emma's name and she remembered she had been pushing back the moment to text her the hour.

"Miss Swan," she said dryly as a greeting.

"Madame Mayor." Emma mirrored her tone although she sounded a little more nervous.

Regina popped open the tupper that contained her salad and reached for a fork with her free hand. "Shouldn't you be working, Sheriff?"

There was a certain mock in her tone and Emma seemed to catch it quickly. "It's not like Storybrooke offers a lot to do for a police officer."

"Aw the little Sheriff is bored? Should've thought it twice before running against Sidney over a stupid whim."

"It wasn't a whim," Emma shot back with a hint of annoyance in her voice now.

Regina mixed her salad and spoke lazily, like if the conversation was boring her now. "What is it that you wanted, Sheriff?"

"Uh, this is an unofficial call actually."

Before Emma could add anything else, Regina's eyebrows shot up. "Oh. I don't think this is appropriate, Miss Swan. We may have exchanged some...entertaining texts, but I assure you phone sex during work hours-"

"Whoa whoa, wait. No. That's not... I didn't... Wait, do you know what phone sex is but not sexting? Did you Google it?"

Regina was thankful they were talking over the phone so Emma couldn't see the betrayer blush on her face as the memory of her searching for that on the Internet the previous day came to her mind.

"What are you calling for, Miss Swan?"

In the silence that followed, Regina could almost hear Emma's mind working its gears putting two and two and guessing Regina  _had_ indeed googled it. However, she decided not to say anything for now and Regina had to give her points for that.

"I never got the answer to the hour text. I mean I know Henry doesn't have an appointment with Archie today but I don't know which time would be good to show up and if I can bring anything."

"I highly doubt you have anything to offer other than the cookies and bird cages Miss Blanchard owns."

The eye roll was almost audible through the phone. "I think I have a lot to offer though."

Salad long forgotten in the coffee table, Regina leaned back on the couch and raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? I believe only you think that."

"It looked like you thought that too two nights ago when I was sitting in your face."

Emma's blunt words caused the desired effect when Regina felt her thighs warm at the memory. She cleared her throat though, not ready to give Emma what she wanted. "If you can manage to bring a good wine, be my guest. By 7 would be fine."

The victorious grin was obvious in Emma's voice when she answered, "See you later then Madame Mayor."

Regina didn't say anything before hanging up. She threw the phone into the couch and scowled. She really didn't know why she even put effort in this, other than pleasing Henry. It was conflicting; on one hand it was worth it to see Henry happy and smile at her, but on the other hand it was only because Emma would be there. He could only be happy if Emma could be a part of his life. Why though? She had left him and had made a choice not to have to deal with him, making it a closed adoption. And yet he was still insisting on forgiving her for that. There was no doubt he had Charming's blood running through his veins.

It was crazy how it all had ended up. Regina had casted a curse to get her happy ending and she finally had, but only to be casually her undoing's son. Almost ironic.

She was calm though. Yes, the curse had weakened, but it was far from breaking since there was no magic in this world. It would be impossible, not even a true love's kiss could break it if there was no magic. It's not like there was true love in town. She had made sure Charming and Snow were apart, and if she hadn't broken the curse when Henry was only a toddler who loved her unconditionally and blindly and who she loved back with all her being, there was no way the curse could be broken.

Regina was still unsure about that when she pinched on the lettuce.

* * *

For the first time that week, Regina left her office early. That day had been unusually quiet and, while there was still a lot of work to do –especially with late spring's foam party that Storybrooke held annually coming up– she had finished it quickly and drove home. Although Henry had insisted that Emma came over before dinner and then stayed, Regina thought it would be better to first have dinner and then they could finish the puzzle. Before she headed home, she stopped by the grocery store and then she allowed herself some time to relax before she started to make dinner. It was a night for Henry, so she was planning to make his secret favourite: sushi.

She was making herself comfortable when she heard Henry entering the house. Regina finished up and walked to the stairs, where she found her son rushing up to his room.

"Henry." He turned to look at her like if he had forgotten her presence. "How was your day, sweetheart?"

"Uhm, okay. Normal. Is Emma coming over?"

Regina suppressed the urge to grimace at the straight mention of the blonde, not caring for anything else, and managed a little smile instead. "Yes. But you have to finish your homework first. She'll be here for dinner. Afterwards, we can finish the puzzle."

His face was almost swallowed by a grin and nodded, disappearing into his room, most likely to do his homework. After all, she had raised him well.

It was a quiet evening. Regina was making dinner while upstairs she guessed her son was either working on his homework or reading comics, but he didn't come downstairs until the bell rang. Regina glanced at the clock and wondered who it would be since there was still half an hour before Emma arrived. She was putting the sleeves of her white shirt up after they had lowered down on their own when Henry opened the door before she could.

In the door stood Emma Swan, holding a bottle of wine. Her eyes went from Henry to Regina and stayed there even when the kid grabbed her hand and pulled her inside.

"Miss Swan. I didn't expect you until 7. Dinner isn't ready yet."

Emma stood awkwardly in front of the door Henry had just closed. "Yeah I know. I actually came to help, if that's okay."

Henry looked up between his mothers while Regina seemed to consider this. It looked like if she was scrutinizing Emma, looking for some hidden intention, but it seemed she didn't find one when she nodded and looked down at Henry.

"Why don't you take a shower? When you finish you can come down and help us."

He nodded energetically and smiled at Emma, raising his eyebrows in a silent message Regina didn't get, but the Sheriff did and smiled back nodding. When he ran upstairs, Regina turned and walked to the kitchen, the invitation to follow her silent as well.

Emma left the bottle of wine on the kitchen island and looked around, taking in what was being cooked.

"Sushi?" she asked once she realized.

"It's Henry's favourite. I supposed you knew since he tells you everything." There was resentment in her words and she made sure it was clear, looking at Emma disdainfully.

"I thought ice cream was his favourite." Emma put her hands in the back pockets of her jeans. Regina noticed they were tighter than usual and couldn't help but wish Emma turned to see how it hugged her ass.

"Weak assumption. Although he does like ice cream, sushi is his go-to choice."  _Something you would know if you had raised which you did not,_  Regina wanted to add but kept quiet for the sake of the evening.

Instead she turned and, after securing the sleeves up again, she went back to the task she had been at when the bell had rang. She felt Emma's uncomfortable presence behind her, her eyes probably –hopefully– running over Regina's body, but standing there without anything to do.

"Hadn't you come to help?" Regina asked without turning. As much a she liked to be admired, having the blonde standing awkwardly behind her was making her nervous. Especially when her son would come down in any moment; she didn't want to leave them alone. It was a night for the  _three_  of them.

"I've never made sushi before," Emma confessed with a blush of awkwardness the other woman missed.

Regina patted next to her and waited for Emma to get the message and walk over there. "Look." She slowly made one roll of sushi and when she finished, she looked at Emma, raising an eyebrow. To her surprise, Emma was able to mirror her exact movements to get another perfect roll of sushi.

"I thought you had never made it." It was out before she could even stop it and she regretted it when she saw Emma's smug smile.

"I hadn't. I learn fast."

Regina rolled her eyes and moved to work on the side salad she had been preparing. "Henry didn't get that from you. It took quite a few attempts before he could make a decent one."

There was a silence and Regina wondered if Emma had heard her. When she raised her head and saw the sad expression on her face, she notice she  _had_  heard her and that was the motive of the silence.

Before any of them could break it though, Henry appeared in the kitchen with his hair still wet. He grabbed a green small stool and placed it before the counter, ready to stand on it to reach the ingredients before Regina stopped him.

"Henry. Hands."

"But I just showered," he whined, but with one look Regina was able to convince him to wash his hands on the sink. Once he was ready, he came back to the stool and grabbed the ingredients to make another roll. "Do you know how to do it Emma?"

She raised her head and her eyes locked with Regina above his head. The Mayor raised an eyebrow. Emma smiled at Henry then and shrugged.

"Not really."

Henry started Mission Rolls and started to make one as he explained Emma every step very carefully, words he probably had learned from Regina and was now echoing. Regina was finishing up the salad when Henry called for her.

"Look! Emma's first sushi roll! It looks like it's going to fall apart," he giggled as he pointed at the, to be fair, poor looking roll of rice.

Regina waited until Emma looked at her and cocked an eyebrow at her as if to ask where her brilliant ability had gone. The blonde smiled at her and shrugged slightly.

"I think it's quite edible." Emma raised it to her mouth to take a bite, but when her teeth sunk, it fell apart as Henry had predicted, making him burst into laughter next to her.

Regina had to suppress a giggle too at the sight of Emma's face covered in rice with the rests of the roll hanging in her hands. The Mayor handed her a napkin and Emma managed to clean it almost all off her face, Henry still laughing at her.

"Go put the table, Henry," she told him then. He obeyed and there was no sulking or pout at it; just a smile as a trace of the laughter.

"I must admit you're a good actress, Miss Swan," Regina said once he was gone.

Emma helped her put everything into the plate and before they could go out to the dining room, she placed her hand on top of Regina. "Thank you for that."

Regina's dark coals were glued to Emma's eyes, but she moved her hand out of her touch, ignoring the increasing pace of her heart. "I didn't do anything".

Emma opened her mouth to say something, but in the end decided to let it go and just grabbed the plate to take it to the table. Regina followed her with the salad and the soy sauce in silence. When Emma had touched her, Regina had remembered the dream she had had. She hadn't given it a thought since that morning. Dreams usually get forgotten as the day passed and it had been exactly what had happened to her. Until that very moment.

When she raised her head she suddenly noticed the shadow on Emma's neck and suppressed a shiver. Emma didn't hide it. It was there in plain view –in his son's view!– and she wore like...she liked it. And Regina felt her stomach turn, a wave of arousal washing over her at the thought of that.

"...and he had the sword and wouldn't let anyone else take it. It was so unfair. It was my turn!" she heard her son saying. She looked at him, trying to catch up with the conversation, but Emma chimed in before she could.

"You had the shield. That is cool too."

"But not like the  _sword_." Henry rolled his eyes because Emma didn't  _get_ it as he picked a slice of sushi from his plate.

Regina noticed they had already grabbed their own slices of sushi. Emma was eating with a fork, but both Henry and she had mastered the art of the chopsticks by then. When she used them to grab the first slice, she felt Emma's eyes following the motion of her fingers handling the chopsticks and noticed the slight gulp.

Well, that she could manage.

Henry had already jumped into another topic of conversation, something about dinosaurs, and Regina looked at him. She nodded once in a while and hummed in response of his great vast of details about those apparently giant animals, but her mind was well aware of how Emma's eyes were still on her. She made an exaggerated show of holding the chopstick on her hand, playing with them with her skilful fingers. It wasn't anything Emma hadn't seen by then in their sexual encounters, but it looked it was entrancing her like a snake charmer.

It felt good to feel the power back again if only for a moment, until they finished dinner in a small talk. Oblivious to the scene, Henry got up to pick up his plate and glass to take it to the kitchen. Regina waited until he was behind the door to lift her gaze, her eyelashes fluttering at her.

"You tease," Emma murmured once she noticed Regina knew what she had been doing the whole time. Regina only picked up the rest of the plates and smirked, giving her hips one extra sway when she turned to walk to the kitchen, Emma following her shortly after.

Dealing with her feelings? Not an easy task. Using her sensuality to lure people into her spider webs? Regina was the best at it. It also gave her something to entertain her brain instead of the sincerity on Emma's eyes when they had practically held hands, how fun she had had when the sushi roll had exploded on Emma's face or how good the evening was going. And above all, how familiar and easy it all seemed with Emma there, just the three of them.

"I'll go get the puzzle!" Henry pulled her out of her thoughtful haze as he walked by her, knowing he would get scolded if he ran to the study. "I'll set up the living room," she heard him shout outside the kitchen.

Emma appeared then, looking back at him. When she turned, the smile on her face didn't fade. Her eyes, however, roamed over Regina's body. She was wearing jeans, something Emma though the Mayor didn't owned, and wondered why she didn't used it more often; they looked so good on her. Of course, everything looked good on that woman, she thought. That added to the plain white button up shirt with her sleeves up and her ever present high heels made the views exquisite. After the chopstick show, Emma was really trying to keep her mind away of the memories they shared, sprawled on any surface that allowed them, but it was hard when Regina was looking smoking hot.

Regina walked over to the kitchen door, past Emma, but stopped right behind her to lean in and whisper, "You might need a napkin if you keep drooling like that, Miss Swan."

Emma didn't turn to see her go. Mostly because she knew she would definitely drool over Regina's ass in those jeans.

* * *

"Miss Swan, that is childish. Please return the puzzle piece to Henry."

Emma looked at her with a hurt expression on her face. She pulled the puzzle piece out of her pocket and handed it to Henry, who was now smiling smugly. He put it down and it matched perfectly to the other pieces around it.

"What are you? Like the masters of puzzles?" Emma murmured, really trying to fight the urge to cross her arms on her chest and sulk like a child.

Both Regina and Henry wore the same expression of superiority on their faces and she rolled her eyes. Like mother, like son, definitely. Regina leaned to grab the puzzle box lid and check how their work was looking in comparison.

"Okay, let's start with the sky now." It was the last thing they had left to finish it and also the hardest part. They gathered all the pieces and separated the corners from the rest. While Regina put them where they should be, Emma and Henry started to look at the other pieces.

* * *

"That's not the right piece, Regina," Emma said, frowning at her as she tried forcefully to put it in a wrong place. The Mayor turned her head and shot a glare at her. They were almost finishing now; a miracle given how stubborn the two women had been. A frustrated Regina was cute at the beginning. It had started to irritate Emma when she had started to snap at her even for breathing too loud.

"Very well, then. Think you can do it better?" Regina crossed her arms and sat back on her feet. She had been on all fours, working on the puzzle and while Emma had enjoyed the view, the glares not so much. "Be my guest."

Emma huffed and searched for the right piece. When she found it, she leaned forward and put it in its place. She smiled victorious when it clicked and turned to look at Regina, who rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," she said under her breath. They kept bickering about the pieces until they finally finished it. When they leaned back to admire it, Regina turned to look at Henry and found him sleeping on one of the couch's cushions. She didn't know when he had drifted to sleep, but she registered he hadn't talked in a long time since they had started with the sky.

She glanced at the clock and realised it was late. They had been at it for hours and she had been so into it she had lost track of time. She was thankful the next day was Saturday and Henry didn't have to wake up for school. She stood up and managed to pick him up in her arms without waking him up. He was growing taller and soon she wouldn't be able to do it anymore.

Maybe it was because it was late. Maybe it was because she had actually enjoyed the evening and was in a good mood. Maybe it was because of the intimacy of the dim light of the living room. Before she left the leaving room, she turned to Emma. "Coming?"

Emma immediately stood up and followed her up the stairs in silence. She watched Regina laying Henry down, taking off his shoes and putting the sheets over him with a kiss on his forehead. She knew Regina loved Henry, but seeing a scene like this in person made her chest feel warm with relief. When she had given up Henry, she had hoped for him a good life and with Regina she knew he had it.

Regina stood upright then and looked at her. She stepped aside and silently left Emma to do whatever she wanted to do. She saw it like an experiment; what would Emma do? How would she feel? Regina watched Emma hesitate, but finally stepped further into the room and pressed her lips to his forehead before whispering goodnight to him.

While Regina watched her, she felt her stomach turn. She should felt hate for Emma, but she was surprised when she felt at ease. Yes, there was a certain hurt in there, but not anger like she had expected. She was frowning at her own feelings when Emma turned and looked at her. They left his room in silence and Regina closed the door behind them.

To avoid the uncomfortable silence to stretch between them, Regina cleared her throat. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Yeah," Emma breathed almost stepping over the other woman's words, relieved to avoid the obvious issue that hung in the air between them. She was hot and bothered and confused and nervous, and alcohol wasn't probably the answer, but when had she cared about that?

Once in the kitchen, Regina reached for a glass of wine for herself and a tumbler of apple cider for Emma, who raised her eyebrows at her choice but remained quiet. They both drained the drink in one gulp.

"So…" Emma started, but couldn't continue when Regina interrupted her, pouring another glass of the drinks.

"Why didn't you eat from the pizza yesterday?" It was a stupid detail but Regina couldn't let it go. It was bothering her since Henry had told her.

"What?" Emma tilted her head, clearly not expecting that question. Regina handed her the glass again and repeated her words. "Old habits, I guess," she shrugged, avoiding her eyes.

"Old habits of what?" Regina pressed although she could see Emma didn't want to talk about it. It took her a moment when she finally looked up.

"I never thought you owned a pair of jeans."

"That's not an answer."

Their gazes locked and Emma clenched her jaw. There was something about her face, her features hardened. Regina was smart enough to know whatever it was, it was related to Emma's past, and for some reason the words she had dreamed of dripping from the blonde's lips echoed in her head.

_You're nothing but an evil witch. You deserve nothing good._

She swallowed the wine on her glass and left it on the counter while Emma did the same with her own drink. They looked at each other and as if by silent agreement that their conversation was escalating into some fields none of them wanted to dive into, they gravitated towards each other, their lips locking.

Regina felt light headed with the wine, and she could taste the traces of apple in Emma's tongue. She tried to focus on that and on Emma's body being pressed against her to push her against the kitchen island. Emma lifted her easily and sat her there, placing between her legs as Regina's fingers threaded in blonde tresses, giving them a tug.

Emma's hands were already unbuttoning her shirt and before she could even realise it, she was in her bra with the button of her jeans popped open, sitting on the kitchen island and with the Sheriff between her legs. Her hands lowered down to grab Emma's ass and push her further into her body.

When the blonde's lips kissed down her neck as her hands tugged at her jeans to lower them and take them off, Regina closed her eyes. It was quick, but it was what Regina needed. She needed her mind going blank as fast as possible. Emma's hands sneaked inside her panties and she sighed.

"God."

"Most people call me Emma."

She rolled her eyes, but the reply was cut by Emma's fingers circling her clit just like she liked it. She gripped her shirt and when her eyes found the hickey, she closed her eyes and threw her head backwards, allowing Emma the access to bite at her neck. Her hips pressed forward and she bit her lips to keep the moans from coming out.

How low had she gotten? Almost naked in her kitchen being fucked by no other than Emma Swan. Perhaps someone was walking on the streets, not being able to sleep or walking their dog, and would see the lights on. They would think a million reasons as to why they were on, but she was certain that having sex with the Sheriff wouldn't be in that list.

She felt her walls clenching around Emma's fingers and her grip tightened, really trying to keep the moans at bay. When she exploded though, a soft groan escaped her lips as she fell forward on Emma's body. She took a moment to recover her breath and, when she did, she pushed Emma away.

Regina raised her head and looked at her. "Pass me my jeans, dear."

Emma blinked at her and her eyebrows shot up. "Seriously?"

Picking up her shirt, Regina put it and started button it up to at least look more presentable. "Seriously what?"

"You fucking tease me all night. You get me all hot and bothered and I fuck you and that's it?"

"Were you expecting something else?" Regina smirked, but Emma was serious. Seeing she had no intention to obey her request, she lowered from the kitchen island to get her jeans, but Emma exploded before she could.

"What the fuck, Regina? I'm not your booty call to fuck you whenever you fucking feel like it and then throw me away like some toy when you're satisfied."

It was late and Regina was definitely not ready to have  _that_ conversation, so she put all her defences up. "If you're going to have the mouth of a sailor, please at least lower your voice."

"Do you not care about this?" Before Regina could ask what 'this' was, Emma passed a hand through her hair and exhaled and humourless laugh. "How am I not surprised."

"Don't act so hurt now. _This_  is nothing but a way to stop me from wrapping my hands around your neck and shut your insufferable voice up every time you talk. I let you spend time with Henry, you owe me this."

Emma frowned and opened her mouth. "What? I owe you? Am I being prostituted for Henry's time?"

Regina sighed and rolled her eyes. She hadn't meant it like that, but she couldn't think straight. She shook her head, "I didn't—"

"You know, maybe you're not the Evil Queen but you're certainly fucked up, Regina."

Had she had her magic, a fireball would have been already on her hand, ready to fire it against Emma. How dared she throw a low blow like that? Regina's nostrils flared and felt the tears forming in the back of her eyes, but she blinked to stop them. She took a step forward, getting into Emma's personal space. Her heels were on the floor, so she was slightly smaller than her, and she was only wearing her shirt over her underwear, but that didn't let her be any less intimidating.

"I loathe you. Your face, your stupid attitude, everything about you. You're lucky I haven't thrown you out of town and even more I even let you see Henry at all."

Emma, far from being scared about the threat, met her intense gaze. "You think you're so powerful but you're not. You're just so full of shit." She didn't look back when she stormed out of the kitchen.

Regina heard the front door closing in a loud thud and hoped Henry hadn't woken up because of it or else Emma would wish she had run out of town when she had the chance. She stood in the kitchen, her hands curled up in fists as she tried to control her rage. She was really close to throw anything that was nearby her against the wall, but after taking a few deep breaths, she picked up her jeans and heels and headed upstairs. She checked Henry was still asleep and then closed the door of her bedroom.

Emma thought she was so smart, thinking she could read her so well. She  _had_ been good to Emma so far, but it all had an end and if Emma wanted war damn well she would give her one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: I mean, I really tried to keep the angst out of this one but it was seducing me and I had no choice.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm not quite sure about this chapter but it was the only thing that would come out of my mind so I guess, enjoy?

Henry appeared in the kitchen door, brushing his sleepy eyes. "Mom?"

Regina turned, spatula in hand and looked at him. Behind her, a full plate of pancakes was waiting to be eaten and there was flour in her cheek. She smiled at him.

"Henry, sweetie. I hope I didn't wake you up."

He looked around and took in the uncharacteristic mess that took place in front of him. If any of the other few times that situation had taken place were anything to go by, Henry knew something was up, because when his mother went full crazy chef mode it was because there was something really upsetting her.

Maybe the curse breaking?

Henry silently gasped at the possibility and wished he had his walkie with him to inform Emma. In the mean time, his mother was still looking at him, so he smiled the best he could.

"No, you didn't. But it smells good."

"I know I don't usually let you eat such a sugary breakfast meal, but I imagine once in a while is okay." She turned to finish the pancake which was already made in the pan, throwing it in the plate with the rest of them before grabbing the plate and putting it in the counter.

Henry took a seat and immediately reached for one. "Cool," he murmured.

Sitting in a tool next to him, Regina leaned in, looking at him. "Henry, I know we've been having a rough time lately, but I'm really trying to understand you. I want us to be okay."

He chewed one of the pancakes and stared at her, uncertain, "Okay." Regina came back to her plate and grabbed a pancake, taking Henry by surprise. In all his life, he hadn't seen his mother eat anything that wasn't considered as healthy.

They ate in silence until Henry seemed to remember about the previous night. "The puzzle! Did you finish it with Emma?"

Regina left the fork on the counter with slightly more force than necessary, but forced a smile, "We did. I left it on the living room so you could see it."

"Awesome," he beamed. "Now that you two are friends—"

"Friends? Emma and I?" Regina interrupted him. He nodded and she laughed a humourless laugh. "No, honey. Emma and I, we're not—we're not friends."

Henry frowned and tilted his head, "But you are. You get along."

Regina's face softened a little at his son's innocence, "Friendship when you're an adult is not as simple as that."

"Then what is it?"

She was surprised to find herself out of a good answer. It's not like the two women were friends, and even if they had been, it didn't matter now. Regina took the chance though to talk to him about what she had meant to.

"Henry, about Miss Swan… She's not who you think she is. She is not some saviour or whatever you think she is. She is a coward and can run in any moment, like she has done in the past."

"What?"

"I'm sorry Henry, but that's the truth. I would rather if you didn't get too close to her, spending so much time together. It could only hurt you and that is the last thing I want." She placed her hand above his and he looked at it, disbelief all over his features.

They were silent for a moment and Regina almost thought she had convinced him, but then he shook his head and looked up with teary eyes, retreating his hand from beneath hers.

"Why are you like this? I liked it last night. I…I even thought you were becoming good, but you're the Evil Queen and you will always be. Emma won't abandon me, not again!"

Regina cringed at the pitch of his voice, but swallowed the lump in her throat. "Henry, I've raised you. I took care of you while all she's done is come here and what? Let you eat ice cream? She may have your genes, but I am your mother legally."

"You're not. You're evil! I hate you!" he shouted before running outside the kitchen.

Regina closed her eyes and heard the door of his bedroom closing with a loud bang. She took a deep breath to calm herself but she couldn't stop the tears from falling. The morning hadn't gone like she had expected.

She had woken up early—or more like she hadn't slept at all, thinking about what Emma had told her. The initial anger was gone and only bitterness was left. After hours of thinking about it, she had come up with an easy plan: if Emma was gone, all her problems were gone. Henry would stop trying to run away from her and she would not be troubled about her feelings.

How had she forgotten? The answer was right in front of her eyes. She had kept a little of the sleeping curse she had used on Snow, just in case she might need it again. Who would've known she would use it in her enemy's daughter. Must've run in the family. With that she only needed to prepare a meal and find an excuse to give it to Emma and…she wasn't sure what would happen, but she guessed it would be enough to get her out of their lives without killing her.

After an early visit to her vault, Regina started to cook a delicious apple turnover. An inside joke, she had smiled. Once the meal was in the oven, it was time to think of her plan. First she would have to deal with Henry. He was already suspicious about her and it would only take a small slip from her to get another accusation from him.

Just like every time she felt uneasy, Regina started to cook and what was better than a tasty breakfast to tell Henry about Emma's -made up- intentions. She would tell him Emma was thinking about running away. Then, she would deliver the pastry to the station, going there with the excuse of an apology. Emma would eat it and Regina would take care of the rest. Easy.

Except it had gone terribly wrong. Henry had gone mad at her and, she admitted, had only shouted the truth at her. Regina sat alone in her kitchen, swallowing the guilt. Many years ago, she wouldn't have had any remorse to rip Emma's heart out and crush it without blinking, but now the mere thought of the blonde woman brought a bunch of unwanted feelings.

Henry had been right. The previous night had been good, she had had fun and, although she wouldn't admit it out loud, she had liked Emma. That was the thing she was scared the most. She could  _not_ develop any good feelings for her; Emma was there to take Henry away from her and break her curse. The Saviour would only take away the only two good things she had.

Ignoring the little voice in her head that whispered those weren't the only good thing she had, Regina stood to clean up the kitchen. She forced herself to stop thinking, to keep her mind blank, so she focused on the soap being washed away by the water stream. After what felt like forever, she walked up the stairs to lay down. Trying not to think was exhausting and her head was starting to hurt like hell, so she thought she could lay on her bed for a while. It's not like she had anything else to do before taking the turnover to Emma.

With every step she could hear her inner self yelling at her.  _Don't do it. You'll destroy everything. Woman up and fix this, you still have time_. Regina fell on the bed and sighed. She  _had_ to do it. There was no fixing. That was the solution.

She was still trying to convince herself when she fell asleep.

* * *

It felt like if she hadn't closed her eyes at all, but when she opened them, it was dark outside. Apparently she had slept through the day. She glanced at the clock and was surprised when it revealed it was almost 7. Regina got up quickly; she had slept through lunch and god knows what Henry had done.

She knocked on his door and waited for an answer, but it never came. It wasn't unusual; when he got mad he sulked in his bedroom and refused to talk to her for a few hours. She knocked again.

"Henry, I'm sorry about what I said." She waited for any sign of him but it was dead silent. "Henry," she tried again.

After counting to five in case he decided to say anything, Regina grabbed the doorknob and opened the door. His bed, where she had expected to find him, was empty. She whipped her head and scanned the room but he wasn't anywhere.  _Not again._  Regina searched for his bagpack but it wasn't there either. His blue pyjamas were folded neatly and left on the bed and that was the only sign of him in the room.

Panic started to settle in Regina's chest, making it hard to breath. She yelled his name throughout the house, looking into every room with a little hope he was there. He wasn't. Regina ran to her room, her heart beating wildly in her chest. She still hoped he was with Emma and it was just that.

"Hello?" Emma answered the phone after a few beats.

"Is Henry with you?" Regina asked without taking the time for a greeting.

"Uh…no."

"Is that a real no or are you trying to hide from me he is with you? Because I'm not going to get angry about it, I just need to know." Okay, maybe she  _would_ get a little angry, but it's not like she was about to give her away like that.

However, Emma's voice was concerned when she asked, "Is everything okay? He isn't here. I've been at the apartment all day."

The weight in Regina's chest increased. Last time Henry had gone missing, he had gone to find his mother, but if he wasn't with her now, where could he be? A million thoughts crossed her mind and none of them calmed her down. If anything they only made her more anxious. Henry had disappeared while she was  _sleeping_.

"Regina?" she heard Emma. "Are you still there? Is Henry okay?"

"He's…he's gone," Regina muttered before she choked on her sobs. "He's not here."

"What?" Regina heard some noise in the background and a door closing. "What happened? How do you know?"

Regina shook her head although there was no one there to see her. "His bagpack isn't here either. I just…I needed to get some sleep and I didn't mean— I didn't hear…he yelled and then ran and…" Regina paused as she realized and held her breath. The last thing Henry had told her before he disappeared was that he hated her.

Through the phone, she heard the sound of a car and Emma spoke over the engine, "Regina, calm down. I don't understand."

Regina sniffed. "You shouldn't talk on the phone while you drive."

"Seriously, Regina? Just…ugh," Emma grunted and took a turn too fast, but was able to get back into the road. "Just wait a second."

The line went dead before she could say anything else and Regina was left alone again in her bedroom. She didn't have time to recover though, when she heard an insisting knocking on her door. For a moment, she forgot about the call and ran downstairs, hoping it might be Henry.

When the door opened though, Emma's eyes stared back at her across the porch, breathing heavily. She was wearing what looked like improvised pyjamas made of yoga pants and a big shirt.

"What happened?"

Regina opened her mouth but a sob came out and she started crying, hiding her face in her hands. At that point she didn't care it was Emma who was in front of her. The same Emma who had left her the previous night angrily. The same Emma who she was trying to poison.

The same Emma who took a step forward and surrounded her body with her arms, hugging her in silence. Regina closed her eyes and smelled Emma's shampoo.

"Tell me what happened," Emma whispered after a moment.

Regina took a step back and swallowed, trying to find the words to describe it to Emma without revealing what had been her plan.

"We were having pancakes this morning. I was…I was trying to make amends with him but the conversation took another turn and we…argued. Over you. He yelled at me and ran upstairs to his room." Regina shook her head and suppressed another sob, taking a deep breath. "My head was hurting from the lack of sleep and that and I decided to lay down. I woke up less than half an hour ago and he wasn't here."

Emma closed the door and guided them into the living room, helping Regina to sit down on the couch. The puzzle was were they had left it and Regina felt a knot in her stomach at the sight.

"I thought he was with you." It would have sounded more accusatory if she hadn't been crying with her face in her hands.

Emma shook her head, "I haven't heard from him today. What time was it when you saw him for the last time?"

"Around 11:30. He woke up late and we had breakfast, but he didn't finish it," Regina murmured, her eyes still on the floor. Emma was so calm, how could she be so calm about it? Their son was missing.

Nodding, Emma counted in her head, "Okay so that gives him around 6 to 7 hours to plan whatever he planned."

Regina turned her head to look at her, "You think he actually ran away? Where? If he was to run he would run to you like last time."

Emma stared at Regina. The usually controlled woman was a mess now. She was still wearing the robe Emma guessed she had put on the previous night when she had left, and it was open so she could see the thin piece of lingerie that were her bed clothes, but Regina hadn't even noticed. Her face was make up less and red, sore from crying and her hair was as messy as she was.

It was the second time Regina was through her son disappearing and it saddened Emma. She was still mad at that woman for using her, but there was no denying Henry was the most important thing for her and lived for him. And that little shit kept running away from her.

"Everyone here loves Henry. I highly doubt anyone would want to take him away. Not even to make you suffer. Also, I don't think anyone has money problems like to kidnap the Mayor's son knowing you could pretty much kill them if you found out."

It made sense. Regina glanced at Emma and frowned.

"How can you be so calm? Henry is missing."

She wasn't expecting Emma's tiny smile. "It's enough with one dramatic mother. Someone has to keep focused." She wasn't expecting her body reacting with a mirrored small smile at Emma's attempt to calm her nerves. "Okay. First, we go and find his laptop. If he was planning something I bet he googled it."

Again, that made sense. Regina led them to Henry's tidy room, and she had to swallow the threatening tears that were forming on the back of her eyes. Emma took a seat on the chair while Regina hovered over her shoulder, watching everything.

Learning from the last time it had happened, Henry hadn't even bothered to delete the search history. Thank god, Emma thought. In the rush to come over, she hadn't grabbed anything that wasn't her phone and her car keys. As she read the pages he had visited, she whispered, "Oh, no."

"Oh no what?" Regina squinted her eyes to read but Emma was scrolling down to fast, so she turned to look at her. "What is it?"

"I think he searched for a lawyer? In Boston."

Regina's eyes widened and she looked like she was about to explode, but when she spoke, her voice was thin, "What?"

Emma nodded, confirming her theory as she scrolled further down. Then turned on the chair and leaned back. "Okay, so he made some research on adoption's laws and found a lawyer in Boston, not far from where I lived actually. Is there anything I need to know?"

"Besides the obvious?" Regina shot with a hurt tone. "I told him I was legally his mother and he…I can't believe he actually did this. We have to go and find him."

She started to walk to the door and Emma jumped off the chair, following her downstairs, "Regina, wait!"

"How can I wait when my son is out there on his own? It's already dark and he is in the city!"

Regina reached for the doorknob, but Emma stopped her, getting ahead of her and closing the door that was already opening. The Sheriff grabbed her shoulders and turned her so their faces were inches away.

"I know we have to but you're barely wearing any clothes, no shoes and I am almost like you. Listen, I'll tell Mary Margaret, okay?" Regina sneered at the mention of the little woman, but Emma didn't let her speak. "I'll tell her to search in town and get some help, maybe he didn't go far. In the meantime we will make a plan. We can't just go out and yell his name on the street."

Emma helped her take a few breaths while caressing her arms for a more calming effect. When Regina finally came back to her senses, she frowned at Emma, "When did you become so rational?"

A smile appeared in Emma's face and let go of the other woman. Regina felt the loss immediately and for a brief moment all she wanted was for Emma to hug her again. "I'll make the call, you go get dressed."

Regina nodded and walked to the stairs but she stopped at the bottom and looked over her shoulder. "I'll leave you some clothes in the guest room, if you want to change. It'll be faster than if you stop by your apartment."

Emma smiled again warmly and nodded, already pulling out her phone. "Thanks."

After leaving a pair of jeans and the shirt Henry had once stole from her to give it to Emma and then she had found it suddenly on her closet, Regina started to get ready, putting on the first pants and shirt her hands found. She was finishing the buttons when she heard a knock on the door. When she opened it, she noticed Emma was already dressed in the clothes she had left for her.

"They are already looking for him," Emma reassured looking into Regina's eyes. "I figured we could head over to the town's line to see if we can catch him. Maybe he hasn't had the time to reach Boston yet or something."

Regina nodded and stared at her. It reminded Emma when they had first met. Those wide eyes, full with fear and uncertainty. She had to remind herself she was supposed to be mad at her, but it was too damn hard when Regina looked like she would start crying in any moment.

She didn't protest when Emma opened the door of her yellow bug, to the Sheriff's surprise, and remained silent while she drove to the outskirts of town. When they were finally approaching the "Leaving Storybrooke" sign, they saw a small tent set up in the middle of the road.

"Is that—"

"Yes," Regina exclaimed leaning forward in the car, snapping out of whatever thought that was taking all her attention. "That's Henry's tent."

Emma hadn't stopped the car when Regina jumped out of it. The Mayor was relieved to find that at least he wasn't all alone in a big city at night, but her relief replaced with panic when she realised Henry's tent was on the other side of the town's line.

"Henry?!" she exclaimed calling for him as Emma stopped next to her, on the border of the line.

His head pocket out of the tent and, when he saw his two mothers, he got out holding a flashlight. He was wearing his Star Wars pyjamas, the one Regina knew to be his favourite, and on top of it a jacket.

"Henry oh my god, you scared me to death," Regina cried. "What are you doing here? What is this?"

He looked up between his mothers stoically before setting his gaze upon Emma. "You don't believe me, but you're about to."

"What the hell are you talking about, kid?" Emma frowned. "Just come here. You scared me too."

Henry ignored her and looked at Regina. Even before he spoke up, she knew what he was about to say; she could read it in his face, and she held her breath.

"Cross the line."

"Henry, stop saying nonsense." Emma walked over to him, crossing the line, but he took a step back shaking his head. When she looked back, expecting to find Regina next to her, she was surprised when she noticed the other woman hadn't moved. "Regina?"

The Mayor was about to cry again. She swallowed as two set of eyes stared back at her, watching her every movement. Henry and Emma could cross the line as they pleased, but she wasn't sure about what would happen if she did. She didn't belong to this world and Henry was trying to prove it. To prove she was the Evil Queen. She was defenceless and in her state she couldn't even begin to think an excuse to not to cross the line.

"Henry, if you wanted to have a camping, you should have said it, but now it's late and you have to come back home," Emma tried while she started to pick up the tent. Henry on his hand didn't move, looking up at her mother, knowing she was confirming it without words. "Regina, come help me."

Emma waited for her to come but when she looked over her shoulders she saw Regina was still standing on the same spot with a look that may as well belong to a frightened deer in the middle of the road.

"C'mon, just come here."

After a moment, Regina finally looked away from Henry and her gaze fell upon Emma. She was so tired of this, of pretending, she just wanted Henry to come back home and be good. Regina shook her head.

"Regina?" This time there was uncertainty in Emma's words. The Sheriff walked over to her, standing in the middle of mother and son. "Why don't you cross the town's line?"

"She's the Evil Queen. She can't cross it or she'll die!"

"Henry, drop it, okay?" Emma turned to him. "She's not the Evil Queen or whatever it is. You scared us to death when we found out you were gone. You shouldn't have done that."

"You wouldn't believe me if I didn't do this! She's evil and she's not my mom."

"She  _i_ s your mom, we both are, so don't say those things," Emma scolded him.

Henry pointed the flashlight at Regina, "She can't cross it! I'm saying the truth!"

"Jesus Christ," Emma murmured before turning to Regina. "Cross the line and then we can just go home."

Deep down, there was a voice that told Emma that something wasn't right. Henry just kept telling her she was supposed to break the curse and to save them all, and the truth was that even if Emma believed in the curse, she couldn't believe she was some kind of saviour. She was no hero and after month of insisting on it, she had grown tired of it. She just wanted to be his mother, to be with him and Regina. She didn't want magic, curses or saviours. She just wanted a home; the home she thought she had found.

However, Regina didn't step forward, nor moved. She just blinked. It looked like if she wasn't even there.

"See? I told you. She's the Evil Queen!"

Emma turned again to Henry, this time getting mad, "She is not!"

"But I am." It had been so low, they almost hadn't heard it. Emma turned slowly to look at Regina, who was staring down at the road. "I am," she repeated. "I can't cross it. You win, Emma."

"What?"

Even Henry was shocked about it. They stared at Regina with wide eyes and before there could be any further explanation, Henry spoke. "It is true?"

Regina nodded, her eyes still cast down and whispered. "All of it." Suddenly she looked up and her eyes fell on Henry. "But it is also truth that I love you Henry. You have changed me for good and I would do anything for you."

"Wait, it was all fucking true? The fairytales, Snow White…the curse?" Emma asked, still in shock.

"Emma…" Regina was ready to scold her for using swearing words in front of their son out of habit, but Emma was in no mood or it.

"Fucking save it, Regina. What the hell is going on? Are you…" Emma narrowed her eyes but didn't finish the sentence, aware of Henry's presence. She didn't have to though for Regina to understand her.

"Crazy? No. Henry isn't either. It is true, okay? It…" she sobbed and shook her head. "I didn't mean for this to happen. I just wanted to be happy for once."

There was a silence for a long time. None of them said anything, too shocked for the twisted turn the conversation had taken and it was only broken by Emma's phone. When she looked at the screen and read her roommate's—mother?—number, she swallowed and looked at Regina.

"Mary Margaret, she's…" Regina nodded slowly and Emma swallowed again only to stop the great amount of swearing that was threatening to spill out of the tip og her tongue.

Instead, she picked up the phone and listened how Mary Margaret informed her that they hadn't found Henry. Emma told her Regina and she had found him and thanked her for the help before hanging up. She passed a hand through her hair and took a deep breath.

"Okay. You," she pointed at Henry. "I'll help you pick this up and get it into the car. You," she added looking at Regina. "Wait there." She nodded at the car and Regina turned without a retort and sat in the seat she had taken before.

It took less than five minutes to dismount the tent and when Emma was putting it inside its bag, Henry whispered. "Mom, it's true. The curse. I told you. Now that you know you can break it, you can save everyone like you were born to do." He smiled to himself but it faded and his grin was replaced by a frown. "I'm the son of the Evil Queen."

"Henry," Emma stopped his rambling, not raising her eyes from the bag. "Let's just finish this up and go home, okay?"

"But she just  _admitted_  it, Emma. She's evil," he whispered excitedly after glancing at the car over his shoulder, almost afraid Regina had moved.

This time Emma stopped and looked up at him. "Henry, stop."

"Why are you defending her? She separated you from your mother."

Emma stood up, taking the bag with her and walked to the car. "Let's go." Henry's shoulders sagged but followed her, knowing better than to push when Emma was in no mood.

The ride to Regina's house was silent enough, with Henry sitting at the back with a frown plastered on his face and a blank expression on Regina's. When they reached the mansion, Emma told Henry to go to his room, an order he was about to question before he saw the look on his mother's eyes. Then, Regina and she ended up in the living room. Emma sat on the couch and stared at Regina with a hard expression.

"Tell me everything. This time for real."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't you hate season 1 Henry? I sometimes do.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder! English is not my first language so there are mistakes. Sorry.

"So let me get this right." Emma looked down at her hands as she tried to put everything together. "Snow White…my mom," she looked up to confirm and Regina nodded, "my mom told your secret, which got your boyfriend killed by your mother, and all that was the reason you hated her all those years, became the feared Evil Queen, killed thousands of people and cast a curse to get your happy ending?"

Regina swallowed and nodded slowly. She had run out of tears long ago, somewhere between Daniel's death and her development until she finally became evil. Emma had listened carefully and hadn't changed her expression during her monologue,

"And you adopted Henry." Emma looked up again, this time with a frown crossing her face. "How? You can't cross the line, right?"

"I don't know if I can cross it. I've never tried; I told Gold I wanted a child and he got me one," Regina shrugged.

"Gold…Rumplestiltskin?"

"Yes." Her voice came out raspy, a result of the sobbing from before. She watched Emma pulling the pieces together in her head; she was smarter than she looked, Regina had to admit that.

Something seemed to catch the blonde's attention, like a revelation, and she looked at Regina, this time staring into her eyes. "Before we even knew where Henry was, we thought he had gone to Boston. We were going to cross the line if we hadn't found him there."

Regina stared back. There was no question in her words, but she answered what she was implying anyways. "I love Henry and he was in danger."

"You could've died."

"Theoretically. The consequences of crossing the line are unknown. Maybe my memories would be erased, maybe I would have been fine."

Emma raised her eyebrows and repeated. "But you could've died."

"It would've been worth the risk."

Staring into her eyes, Emma searched for any signs of a lie, for anything that told her that this woman in front of her could kill her with a snap of fingers had she had her magic. A week before she would have believed that without blinking. Now, looking at Regina whose eyes were sore red from crying, whose shoulders were slumping so uncharacteristically, who had surrendered and was willing to risk everything to save her son, it was hard to believe she hadn't changed since those days.

Emma knew it well. She had a past too; she had her record. Yes, she hadn't killed thousands of people, but it was another realm…or whatever it is called. "So Henry had been right all along. But you sent him to therapy?"

Regina looked down at her hands, trying to swallow the lump of guilt that was building up in her throat and was threatening to make her stop breathing. "I just wanted him to have a normal life, to grow up in a world away from the Enchanted Forest." She sighed and added so low Emma almost didn't hear her had she not be paying attention. "I just wanted him to love me again."

The room fell silent for a moment while both women gathered her thoughts. Finally, Emma reached for Regina's hands and separated them, stopping her from peeling all the skin from her nails. "I get why you did it, but it was wrong."

"I know," Regina nodded. If Emma hadn't seen real regret in her eyes, she would have insisted. It wasn't necessary though. "I've made enough wrong in my life. I'm just…tired."

Their hands were still locked, both of them were aware of that, but none of them moved. In their own way, both Emma and Regina needed support. After a while in silence, Emma shook her head and laughed softly, although it was a humourless chuckle.

"Isn't it fucked up how it looks like fate was…written like this? You adopted Henry, who happened to be my son. I hardly think that's a coincidence."

Regina rolled her eyes softly, "Probably it's Gold's fault. He is always trying to control everything I do so I guess this is a way to do it."

"What does he get from me coming into town?" Emma wondered with a frown and, for the first time that night, Regina's lips drew a little smile.

"Besides from you being a pain in my ass?"

"Like if you didn't enjoy it," Emma shot back, a smile dancing on her lips too. It soon faded from both faces though, as the memory of how they had ended up appeared like a cloud over them.

It took another while for one of them to break the silence, and it almost didn't when Emma spoke so softly it was like a whisper. "When I gave up Henry, I did it to give him a better chance at life. I mean, I was in jail. I knew it was risky, because I've been there; I've been most of my life jumping from foster home to another. But I thought that maybe even that would be better than growing up in jail. When he found me, the first thing I noticed, after the shock, was that he was well dressed and looked healthy."

Emma smiled at the memory, realising she must have looked like she was panicking when he introduced himself. She shook her head and continued, "I brought him here and when I saw the mansion he lived in, I thought at least he lived in a good place. Then I saw you, all worried, your face looking like…well, looking like you are now," Regina smiled with Emma, "and I saw he was loved. You were strict, that was clear, but you cared for him. When I asked you if you loved him, I saw you said the truth."

"Your lie detector?" Regina asked raising an eyebrow sceptically and Emma nodded like if it was the most obvious thing. "But you still stayed," Regina frowned. "I thought you had stayed because you didn't believe me."

Emma averted her eyes and released a breath with a shrug. "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you."

"Well, I believed it was because you wanted to take him away from me until a few days ago."

Emma tilted her head. "A few days ago?"

It was Regina who looked away this time. "The list," she reminded her. Emma nodded, remembering that, but didn't elaborate in her response. Before the silence grew too long, Regina gathered all her courage to ask the one thing she had meant to ask all along. "So…you aren't afraid of me?"

Emma raised an eyebrow and looked at her. "Afraid? No offense Regina, but you look like a lost puppy right now."

Regina rolled her eyes, "You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do. And no, I don't. I've never been afraid of you." There was a pause and Regina was about to ask, an eyebrow quirked up, but Emma didn't let her. "I always thought you were just scared of losing Henry, which is normal. And maybe you were the Evil Queen, but from what I've seen you left all that in the place you come from, whatever that is. I mean, you kind of gave everyone a TV and hot water, I would be grateful."

She laughed and Regina mirrored her, but more out of relief than from finding it funny. She knew she had made mistakes and she would have to pay for them once everyone find out about the curse. They heard some steps above us and simultaneously they looked up, remembering Henry was in his room, probably waiting for an explanation.

"I think he needs to know about this." Emma muttered, pointing up.

Regina nodded, but didn't say a word. She knew if Henry didn't hate her before, he sure did now. If only she could explain herself and make him see what she saw, perhaps he could at least try to understand her. But he was only 10; it was, like Emma had said once, all black and white for him.

"Regina?" Emma pulled her out of her thoughts and the Mayor looked up. "He may have been right about the curse, but that's not an excuse for him to treat you like he did. I'll talk to him."

Regina nodded, although she doubted Emma could do anything. "He probably doesn't want to see me right now."

"I want you to come with me though."

Tilting her head, Regina looked at Emma like if she had grown out 3 more heads. "Emma, he camped outside town only to prove I was the villain all along. I hardly think he would like me to go with you. He'll only talk to you."

"Exactly the reason I want you to come. We have to talk about this, all three of us. I don't think there's a manual to deal with your mother being a Disney villain while the other was designed to break her curse, but I think what's best is for us to talk." Emma stood up and offered a hand, hoping the other woman would take it. "Come on, at least we can try."

It took Regina a moment to consider, but she ended up reaching for Emma's hand. "At least we can try."

* * *

"You cast the curse?" Regina nodded once and Henry narrowed his eyes. "You killed your father for it?"

Regina looked at Emma; she had already explained his mother but she doubted ten years old Henry could understand she made lots of mistakes under that time of her life. She closed her eyes and took a breath before answering.

"Yes, I did. I was very unhappy, in this world it can be categorized like depression, and I got carried away by the promise of a happy ending for me at last." She wanted to say so much more, but she had to pick her words very carefully. To her left, Emma nodded softly at her.

"You made Emma an orphan."

"Actually, I didn't that was Snow White's decision." Regina noticed how Emma swallowed hard next to her and clenched her jaw, clearly not uncomfortable with the turn of the conversation. She made a mental note to talk to her about it.

"But you casting the curse made Emma the Saviour and it made Snow White put her in the magic wardrobe," he recapitulated. He sure had made his homework with the book, Regina thought.

"If this is a chain of act and consequence, this would start a lot before the curse happened. It would start before I was even born," Regina said quietly.

"What Regina is trying to say, Henry," Emma cut in. "Is that yes, she did all those things, but she has changed and she is trying to be good for you. I think she has been good for you."

"She made me think I was crazy," he accused and Regina had to clench her teeth to hold that invisible punch.

"I'm sorry for that, Henry. And I hope one day you can at least understand why I did that," she tried.

"You did it because I knew the truth and you were afraid."

Emma and Regina shared a look and raised their eyebrows. Maybe he knew more than he gave away. Regina nodded silently and looked at Emma. Mother and son dove into a conversation about evil and good, but Regina was silent the whole time. She watched them talk like if she wasn't there, and she imagined it was like that when they went out behind her back to eat ice cream and discuss the curse.

Emma almost convinced Henry after a long conversation, but he still was suspicious of Regina. It was clear when Emma scolded him for being so mean and he side glanced at his adoptive mother like if it was her fault. For Emma it felt like talking to two children who had both messed it up. By the time Henry yawned and they realised how late it was, he had at least considered Regina's part of the story, but they decided to let it be until the next day.

That night, Regina didn't kiss Henry goodnight nor did Emma. They just stood and waited for him to get into bed to leave his bedroom. Once out, they released a sigh in unison.

"Well, that was…I never thought I would have that conversation if I'm honest."

"I can only imagine," Regina commented. They stood in front of Henry's door and Emma shifted her weight from leg to leg.

"Uhm, I know how crazy it must sound but do you mind if I stay here tonight? It's kind of weird coming back to my place to find my…mom." She looked down and cleared her throat, putting her hands into the back pockets of the jeans Regina had lend her a few hours ago.

Regina shook her head, "It's the least I could do. You know were the guests' room is." When Emma nodded and turned to leave, but Regina called for her. "Emma, about that…do you want to talk?"

"About what?" Emma tilted her head and tried to play innocent, but Regina could see through her.

Still, she clarified. "About your mother and the wardrobe and well, me casting the curse causing you to be an orphan?"

"You already said it. It was her choice." Emma shook her head, like if she had said more than she wanted to. "I don't want to talk about it."

"I don't think there's a manual to deal with your mother being a Disney princess and the mother of your son cursing her, but I think it's best for you to talk about it," Regina smiled, repeating Emma's words from a few hours ago.

Emma smiled too and shook her head, "That's cheating."

"You said it, not me," Regina shrugged but hoped Emma opened a little to her. Regina had told her the entire story of her life and had opened up to her about her feelings. She kind of hoped Emma did the same. Maybe Regina wouldn't be able to help, but it was clear Emma was struggling and the guilt made the Mayor want to help her. The guilt only.

Emma seemed to consider it for a moment and Regina waited in silence. Finally the blonde looked up, her smile a little crooked. "Want to know why I didn't eat dinner that night?" Regina nodded and she tilted her head, a frown making its way through the smile.

"Being with Henry, waiting for you to come back, it felt like home. That made me nervous and I couldn't eat anything if I didn't want to throw up in your carpet and earn a tantrum about how clumsy I am from you." Before Regina could find the words to answer, Emma's smile grew sadder as she averted her eyes. "Now I don't know what home is anymore."

She turned and walked to the guests' room, disappearing behind the door. Regina blinked and stared at the door, repeating Emma's words in her head. It had been quite a day and it was too much information to register. Regina shook her head and walked into her bedroom, trying to ignore that insisting tiny voice in the back of her head.

* * *

All it took was a knock. Regina wasn't asleep; she couldn't get herself to sleep. When she heard the knock on her door, at first she thought it could be Henry. Then she remembered Henry was no longer a 5 years old afraid of the lightning, that there was no lightning and that Henry probably would spend the night awake and afraid before going into her room.

The door creaked when it opened slightly, letting in some light from outside. "Regina? Are you awake?"

Sitting up in the bed, Regina turned and her voice came out hoarse when she answered, "Yes."

Emma closed the door behind her and walked to the bed. She hesitated for a moment, in which Regina could make out in the dim light of the night the shadow of the long shirt she had been wearing when she had rushed there that evening. Finally, Emma made a decision and got into bed, sliding beneath the sheets. Regina laid down to look at her, but instead of talking as she had expected, Emma moved forward and pressed her lips to her neck.

Regina didn't know she missed it until she felt Emma's lips on her again. She didn't complain as she felt soft lips using her skin as a canvas to their painting. However, when Emma's hands fell on her hip, she raised her head to look at the other woman.

Before she could ask, Emma's forehead was against hers, "I know it's complicated now, but I just want to not think about all the things we have to deal with. Not tonight."

It was dark, but there was enough light to see Emma's eyes were closed, like wishing everything was simple and not this fairytale mess. Regina never thought she could relate so much to Emma.

Regina's hand found Emma's and she guided it up her torso. The blonde's hand closed when it reached a breast and she squeezed, eliciting a moan to drip from Regina's lips deliciously. Emma leaned down to kiss her, but Regina looked away before she could press their lips together. Instead, Emma's lips fell to her jaw and she nipped.

It was a known territory for both of them and they moved against each other like they had done so many times before. Only this time they didn't tug at each other's hair and instead of wrapping her hands around the Sheriff's throat, Regina let her hands wander down her toned body.

Soon the clothes were just a memory and when Emma's fingers found their way home, Regina held her breath. Their eyes locked, even in the dark she could feel the intense green staring down at her, and when Emma leaned in again, Regina looked to a side again. Her heartbeat rushed, both from Emma's fingers working her up and from her body's reaction to the other woman's attempts to kiss her.

That was all it took though, because Emma didn't try again that night. Not even when they came at the same time for the third time.

* * *

 The alarm didn't ring. Or maybe it did and Regina had turned it off. She couldn't remember. She remembered the previous night though, and she slid her hand over the mattress to check what she suspected: she was alone. When she listened carefully, she could hear the sounds coming from the kitchen. She heard a crash and then Emma cursing, and she couldn't help the smile that took over her face.

For a moment, that blissful moment of the morning Regina loved, there was no curse, and Henry didn't know about it because there was nothing to know, and Emma was there making breakfast, making coffee and trying to make pancakes, and probably failing in the process and then finding the apple turnover in the fridge and pulling it out to take a bite.

Regina sat up. The apple turnover. She hadn't thrown it away.

She jumped out of the bed and grabbed her nightgown, throwing it on her quickly and hoping Emma's hunger wasn't enough for her to try the pastry yet.


	7. Chapter 7

When Regina jumped outside her bedroom, she rushed to the stairs, but she stopped when she saw Henry's door opening and her son walking out of his room.

"Henry," she breathed out. She could barely hear anything besides the thrumming of her heartbeats. He looked downstairs and Regina guessed he had been awakened up by the noise too.

With no time to think, Regina almost ran down the stairs, breaking the rule she had made when Henry had fallen down the stairs when he was little. She heard him behind her, and she could have worried about her son running if Emma wasn't in immediate danger. When she reached the kitchen, she stopped at the door as she saw Emma standing by the island.

She was holding a cup of what smelled like coffee and a fork on the other hand. On the plate in front of her was the apple turnover with one piece missing. The piece that was on the fork.

"Hey," Emma smiled, eating the slice of pastry. "Sorry if I woke you up. I couldn't find the…"

Her brows furrowed in contrast to the smile that was still painted in her face. Her vision blurred and she staggered, the fork falling from her hand. Regina was faster than her and reached for her before her head hit the floor, catching Emma in her arms. The mug dropped to the floor too, breaking into pieces and spilling the coffee it held.

"Emma?" she tried, but the blonde's eyes had closed as was lying motionless in her arms. Regina shook her gently, her own vision blurring from the tears. "Emma, wake up."

"Mom?" Henry asked behind her. He walked next to Regina and gasped when he saw Emma in her arms. "What's going on?"

Regina tried to bring back Emma again, shaking her body, but there was no sign of her waking up. She leaned down, cupping Emma's face with one hand and stared at her features. Why hadn't she thrown the apple turnover away when she could? Why had Emma had to come down to have breakfast on her own? Why did she feel like a part of her had been ripped apart from her?

She looked down at the woman in her arms and held back a sob. Her fingers caressed her cheek and her thumb pressed against Emma's lips. What the hell had she been thinking? She didn't want Emma out of her life. She wanted a like with Emma. She wanted Emma.

She loved Emma.

Regina had tried to push the feeling into the back of her mind, ignoring it because it would only mess everything up. It would make everything even more complicated and she wasn't ready to admit that. She was now, but it was too late. She realized why she had avoided Emma's kisses the previous night; she was afraid Emma didn't love her back or that she did and the curse would break.

Leaning down, Regina closed her eyes. There wasn't magic in this world, but if living with Snow White for more than a couple of years had taught her something, was that hope was a very powerful feeling. Before their lips touched, Regina took a breath and whispered against Emma's mouth.

"I'm sorry."

It was just a light brush, but as soon as they touched, Regina felt a wave of fresh air wash over her. She opened her eyes when she pulled apart, leaning back and her gaze lifted up to look at Henry, who was wide eyed staring at his mothers.

"Henry," she started, her voice almost a whisper, but before she could say another word, they heard a grunt and both looked down at Emma.

Her eyes, still closed, moved and her frown came back. Emma groaned and brought her hand to her head. "What the f…" she opened her eyes and saw Regina hovering over her and Henry looking at her behind her, "…frick?"

Emma tried to sit up and Regina let go of her, realising she was still holding her. Regina was still blinking at her, taking in the information. What she had felt, had it really been…magic? That would only make sense if it had been a True Love's kiss and it would mean…

"The curse," she muttered to herself.

"What?" Emma looked at her. "What are we doing on the floor? Did I pass out?"

Henry gasped as he finally understood what had happened. Sort of. "Mom, did you eat this?" he pointed at the apple turnover, still resting on the kitchen island almost untouched.

Emma closed one eye, trying to remember through her headache. "Uh, I think so? I was hungry and I saw it on the fridge so I thought it would be okay if I took a bite."

"It's made of  _apples_!" he exclaimed. Turning to Regina, he pointed at her, "She poisoned it. You almost die!"

"Whoa, whoa, kid," Emma laughed nervously. "I mean yeah, okay the curse is real but poison?" She turned to Regina, hoping she agreed with her, but Regina was staring at her with those wide, guilty eyes.

"But then she kissed you and there was this wave of magic," he gestured energetically around him. "I think the curse broke and it brought you back!"

"Wait," Emma turned to Regina. "You kissed me in front of Henry?"

Suddenly they heard a knock on the door. Then another. And then it looked like whoever was at the door was trying to bring it down with its own fists. Regina knew this would happen; she just thought it would take a little longer than that.

"Open up!" they heard a muffled voice from outside. "I know you're in there, witch!"

Emma and Regina shared a look and they didn't need to say a word to agree on what to do next. They stood up and Emma grabbed Henry by his shoulders, leading him out of the kitchen. Regina followed them.

"Take him to his room. I'll handle this."

Emma stopped to look at her and spoke lowly so Henry didn't hear. "We're not done talking about this."

Regina nodded and watched them go upstairs. She waited until they were out of sight to turn. The knocks and the yelling were still calling for her on the other side of the door, but still she closed her eyes and focused. She wasn't sure the curse had broken or what that would mean, but she tried to summon her magic. When after a moment nothing happened, Regina gave up. Of course, it was a world without magic after all.

Taking a deep breath, she gathered all the strength she had in her and brushed her eyes in case there was any trace of the tears she had shed. She opened the door abruptly and flashed her best mayoral smile when she faced no other than Leroy.

* * *

Emma and Henry sat in silence in his room, both trying to hear whatever was going downstairs but neither admitting it. From there though, they couldn't hear anything. After a while of pretending, Henry fidgeted with his hands and muttered.

"Mom kissed you."

She looked down at him and tilted her head, holding back a grimace. This is definitely not a way for him to find out. Not that Emma ever suspected they would break a curse with a kiss.

"And she poisoned you."

Nope. Definitely not what Emma had been expecting. She remained quiet, letting the information sink in both him and her. It was so crazy Emma was still trying to it to make sense when they herd a knock on Henry's door.

"It's me." They heard before Regina opened the door and appeared in his room. "Leroy was having a walk and happened to be outside the house when…well, the curse broke."

"So it did?" Henry asked looking up. "The curse broke?"

Regina nodded slowly and prepared for the worst, but it never came. Henry was frowning, trying to find an explication for all the things he had lived within an hour. On her side, Emma wore the same confused expression, but she kept the internal considering for later.

"Everything okay?" she asked, although Regina felt the coldness in her voice.

The Mayor nodded, understanding what she meant. "He wasn't a threat," she confirmed before her lips pursed down. "However, I'm afraid there will be more like him, asking for…an explanation. I think you should go. Your parents will probably be looking for you anyways."

"My parents," Emma repeated dully.

"Prince Charming and Snow White, yes."

Emma's eyebrows shot up. She already knew that, but facing the reality of everything was another thing. "David and Mary Margaret."

Regina nodded and swallowed. "I…think you should take Henry with you too. He's in danger here." It took all of her not to cry right there at the thought of her losing her song after all the fight she had put, and Emma could feel it in her words.

"Where am I gonna go?" Henry asked getting into the conversation.

Luckily for Regina, who could already feel the lump in her throat, Emma answered for her. "We'll stay at Granny's until we figure this out."

It surprised Regina that Emma seemed to be reluctant to stay at her mother's, where she had been staying this whole time, but decided to not comment it. Henry however had no such filter.

"Why aren't we staying at Mary Margaret's?" He gasped and opened his eyes wide. "Do you think David could teach me how to use the sword now that he remembers?"

Regina opened her mouth ready to protest, but Emma was a step ahead of her. "Let's just…stay at Granny's for now. Then we can decide what to do." Regina nodded in agreement and Henry sulked on the bed. "Start packing some things kid, I need to talk to your mother for a minute."

"Are you going to kiss?" he asked looking at them. They blushed and Emma shook her head.

"Packing. Now."

He sighed but jumped out of the bed. It's not like he didn't want to leave; he did. But the idea of staying with actual Snow White and Prince Charming, who could tell him ton of stories about their world, had been too good for him. The two mothers left the room then, and by silent agreement, they went down to Regina's study.

Once inside, Emma closed the door and didn't move. She was still wearing that long shirt she had been wearing to sleep, while Regina was still wearing the nightgown she had found on her way to save Emma.

"So…" Emma started, turning to face Regina. "What the fucking hell?"

"It's a lot," Regina conceded.

"A lot?!" Emma exploded. "Poison? Magic? What?"

Regina closed her eyes and nodded to herself; Emma had a point. She gestured to the couch, but Emma raised one eyebrow, demanding an explanation. Sighing, Regina gave up.

"It wasn't poison. It was a sleeping curse, like the one I put your mother under when she was younger," she explained.

"Sleeping curse," Emma repeated and almost laughed maniacally. "Like the one you put my mother under. Okay, that makes so  _much_  sense, thanks for the explanation."

Regina had to hold back the urge to roll her eyes at Emma's attitude. "Everything was too complicated and I thought it could solve my problems giving it to you." Emma opened her eyes wide and her mouth about to snap, but Regina quickly explained, "But I didn't because I actually didn't want to, but then Henry went missing and it was all out and I forgot about it. I tried to warn you this morning but you were already eating from it. Without asking me first, may I add."

"Oh, don't throw that attitude at me now, Regina. You don't get to call on me on  _my_ actions when you tried to fucking poison me!"

"It was a potion, technically," Regina corrected, but Emma glared at her and she sighed. "I know. I'm…sorry it all turned up like this."

Emma passed a hand through her hair and smiled, but it was so sad Regina flinched. "I thought…I thought you had changed Regina. I was willing to accept you had changed, even with your past, you were still…I don't know, good. Fuck." She covered her eyes with her hands for a moment and Regina could swear she was brushing tears away.

"And what happened with the kiss and magic? And the curse?" She questiones once she lowered her hand, this time looking at Regina.

"You know what that is, Emma," Regina said quietly.

Emma's eyes were hard on her. "No, I don't. Tell me."

Regina looked away and sighed heavily. She didn't even want to admit it to herself; saying it out loud was the hardest thing she had to face. "You know the only thing to break a curse is with a True Love's kiss," she shrugged. "I just kissed you because…I was going to lose you, Emma. And I…I love you, okay? I don't know what happened; it must have been a mistake because True Love's kiss must be bidirectional."

"Newsflash asshole," Emma exclaimed. "I've been in love with you the entire goddamn time!"

"What?" Regina stared at her.

Emma's soft laugh was humourless as she passed a hand through her hair again, looking away, "Since I saw you crossing your door that night." Regina opened her mouth and closed it again, not quite sure about what to say. Emma, however, did have something to say.

"But you were trying to kill me Regina. What the fuck? I knew you didn't like me but really? A  _potion_?"

"I know," Regina exclaimed back, her emotions on the edge. "I fucking know Emma. I regret it, okay? I was just upset because I couldn't control my feelings towards you and you left after we argued in the kitchen and I was afraid it would turn Henry against me. I was cornered and I don't know."

"That's not an excuse, Regina." Emma looked at her incredulously. "It could've killed me."

"I didn't know what would be the consequences. In the Enchanted Forest it would have only put you to eternal sleep, but I wasn't sure about what it would do here," Regina muttered. As she finished the sentence, she realized she had only made it worse and she confirmed it when Emma blinked at her with wide eyes.

"I'm not even going to say how wrong that is." Emma sighed and shook her head. "I'll take Henry to Granny's. I guess I'll talk to…my parents," she frowned at her own words, "but stay inside just in case. I assume people will be mad."

Regina nodded but remained quiet, knowing better than to say anything else. She had already fucked everything up. She didn't know what Emma would talk to her parents, or how it would go, but decided not to comment on any of it. It was up to Emma now.

They heard Henry coming down the stairs. "Emma?" he called. The Sheriff glanced at Regina for a moment, hurt evident in her features, and averted her eyes turning to leave without saying goodbye.

Regina followed and saw her kneeling down in front of Henry, saying something she couldn't hear. Henry nodded and looked at Regina before walking over to her while Emma walked up the stairs. "Uh, bye mom. Stay safe."

She could tell he was saying the truth due to all the years of him catching him in a lie when he stole a cookie or broke a glass, but he still remained still, not quite going for the hug. Regina knew he was conflicted by all the things that had happened and all the revelations, but at least she knew he meant it when he told her to stay safe.

She smiled down at him and only dared to reach for his chin. "You too Henry. I love you."

He nodded and muttered, "Me too." He turned and came back next to his bagpacks, carrying one on his shoulder. Emma came down the stairs in that moment, now wearing her yoga pants and boots, and carrying her phone and keys. She reached for the other bag and placed her hand on Henry's shoulder before walking to the door.

While Regina watched them leave the house, she felt an ache on her chest and swallowed the lump on her throat. It was barely past 11, but once the door closed, she walked over the kitchen already thinking about a glass of wine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry.


End file.
